Reporters from Trump-banned outlets regain access after delays

Reporters from three US news outlets barred from entering the White House were granted access again Thursday afternoon, hours after a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump's ban.

Despite the ruling, the journalists were initially denied access during the morning.

While all eyes are on the meeting between Xi and Trump at the White House -- not every media outlet could cover the event without a hitch.

CNN reporters were once forced to report from outside the White House on the streets.

CNN reported that on Thursday morning, about an hour before President Xi Jinping reached the White House to begin talks with US President Donald Trump, CNN were only allowed to send photojournalists and an audio technician to cover the story, explicitly excluding the network's editorial reporter and producer.

Other TV stations were not subject to the same restrictions.

MS NOW journalists were also reportedly denied entry to cover the state dinner.

US District Judge Timothy Kelly issued an order early Thursday morning lifting the government's 14-day ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico from entering the White House immediately marking a reprieve in the showdown between Trump and the outlets.

However, the three media outlets say some of their journalists' press passes were also confiscated. before they were finally allowed to in around noon, but they faced restrictions again before the state dinner.

Last Friday, Trump banned the outlets, assailing what he called "fake news."

The outlets argued they were singled out over the content of their coverage.

That prompted Fox News, ABC, CBS, and NBC to suspend pooled coverage on Trump in solidarity with CNN.

CNN is one of the five news organizations -- along with the aforementioned four TV networks -- that make up the primary White House television pool.

They share the costs of covering the president, take turns organizing coverage and provide footage to other outlets.

Therefore, President Xi Jinping's visit to the US including the welcome ceremony, talks and state dinner, relies on China's CCTV and the newly established "Trump TV" from the White House to provide footage.