Commentary -- White House to Jim Acosta: Here’s some ‘due process’

After CNN won a temporary restraining order returning to Jim Acosta his White House press pass, the Trump administration issued a letter informing Acosta of its “preliminary decision” to revoke his hard pass based on his “conduct” at the Nov. 7 news conference. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, “The White House cannot run an orderly and fair press conference when a reporter acts this way, which is neither appropriate nor professional. The First Amendment is not served when a single reporter, of more than 150 present, attempts to monopolize the floor.” That argument doesn’t age well. Sure, Acosta badgers the president; he grandstands; he insists on airing his followup questions; he develops quick and close relationships with microphones. But if the White House really applied this standard equally, it would be sending “preliminary decision” packets to any number of mouthy correspondents. Furthermore, the White House letter to Acosta acknowledged that prior to this incident, it had no standards of conduct at press events, primarily because it didn’t believe such a document was “necessary.”