Federal Judge Orders White House to Restore Playboy Reporter Brian Karem's Press Pass

A federal judge ordered the White House to restore the press pass of Playboy reporter Brian Karem on Tuesday. In his opinion, District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras writes that Karem would likely succeed in challenging the White House’s decision to temporarily suspend his White House press pass because they “failed to provide fair notice of the fact that a hard pass could be suspended” after Karem got in a viral verbal argument with former White House aide Sebastian Gorka in the Rose Garden. Contreras wrote that while he understood the “White House’s desire to maintain a degree of control over access and decorum,” White House passes were “no mere triviality” and taking one away was not a “modest exercise of such control.” Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham told The Daily Beast last week that she met with President Trump to talk about suspending Karem’s pass, which Trump said he supported.