Appeals court denies AP's appeal for restored access to cover presidential events

The U.S. Court of Appeals denied The Associated Press' appeal for restored access to cover presidential events.

In a decision that didn't end the news wire's case but allowed the White House to continue barring it full access from events, the appeals court on Tuesday declined to hear the AP's appeal of a ruling last month of a three-judge panel, ABC News reported. 

The panel's ruling said that AP wouldn't be allowed back into events until the merits of its lawsuit against President Trump has been decided.

An AP spokesperson told The Hill news outlet on Tuesday, "[W]e are disappointed by today’s procedural decision but remain focused on the strong district court opinion in support of free speech as we have our case heard.”

“As we’ve said throughout, the press and the public have a fundamental right to speak freely without government retaliation,” the spokesperson added. “We look forward to continuing to produce strong, factual and nonpartisan coverage of the administration.”

In February, Trump decided to keep AP journalists out of the Oval Office, Air Force One, and other events in small venues after the news outlet refused to use “Gulf of America,” his renaming of the “Gulf of Mexico,” in its widely-used Stylebook.

The AP sued Trump, and a district court ruled in April that the administration couldn't exclude journalists because of their opinions. Trump appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals, which delayed the implementation of the lower court's ruling before hearing the full merits of the case.

The appeals court will hear the full merits of the case this fall.

Since the lawsuit began, the White House has changed the rules for access to limited-space events. AP reporters are occasionally permitted back, but its photographers are regularly allowed.