(CNN) — Federal judge Timothy J. Kelly sided with CNN on Friday, ordering the White House to reinstate chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s press pass.

The ruling was an initial victory for CNN in its lawsuit against President Trump and several top aides.

The lawsuit alleges that CNN and Acosta’s First and Fifth Amendment rights are being violated by the suspension of Acosta’s press pass.

Kelly did not rule on the underlying case on Friday. But he granted CNN’s request for a temporary restraining order.

This result means that Acosta will have his access to the White House restored for at least a short period of time. The judge said while explaining his decision that he believes that CNN and Acosta are likely to prevail in the case overall.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE </s> WASHINGTON — The Latest on the legal challenge to the White House’s decision to strip CNN reporter Jim Acosta of his White House press credentials (all times local):

A federal judge has delayed until Friday a ruling on whether the Trump administration has to return the White House press credentials of CNN reporter Jim Acosta.

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly isn’t offering any explanation for delaying a ruling that had been expected Thursday afternoon. He’s set a court date for 10 a.m. Friday.

Kelly is a Trump appointee who heard arguments Wednesday from lawyers representing CNN and the Justice Department.

The news network is seeking an immediate restraining order that would force the White House to hand back Acosta’s credentials, which grant reporters as-needed access to the 18-acre complex.

Acosta has clashed repeatedly with Trump and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in briefings over the last two years. The White House revoked the pass following a combative press conference last week, a day after Republicans lost control of the House in midterm elections.

The Justice Department is defending the White House’s decision to strip CNN reporter Jim Acosta of his press pass. The department is arguing that Acosta is guilty of “inappropriate grandstanding.”

The White House took the action after a heated confrontation between Acosta and President Donald Trump during a news conference last week.

In a court hearing Wednesday, Justice Department lawyer James Burnham argued that Acosta deserved to lose his access over “his refusal to comply with the general standards of a press conference.”

CNN is seeking a restraining order that would force the White House to return Acosta’s press credentials. The network’s lawyer, Theodore Boutrous, said Acosta is being singled out for his body of work, not his alleged rudeness. </s> Washington, Nov 20 (IANS) CNN on Monday ended its lawsuit against US President Donald Trump after the White House returned reporter Jim Acosta’s press pass, media reported.

The cable news network on Monday tweeted: “Today the White House fully restored Jim Acosta’s press pass. As a result, our lawsuit is no longer necessary. We look forward to continuing to cover the White House.” reports Efe.

In a statement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced that the government spoke with Acosta on Monday afternoon and told him that his press pass had been fully restored, a gesture whereby the administration backed off from the threats it had been making prior to that to exclude him from further access to the White House.

However, the return of his pass is conditional on Acosta’s abiding by a set of new rules at presidential news conferences, including asking just one question at a time.

As CNN reported, the White House earlier had warned Acosta that it would suspend his press pass again at the end of this month, when the temporary ruling to restore it issued last week by a judge expires.

The magistrate in the case, Timothy Kelly, last Friday ordered the White House to temporarily return Acosta’s accreditation for at least 14 days, a period that will lapse at the end of November if the judge does not decide to extend it.

The White House suspended Acosta’s press credentials on November 7 due to his reluctance to immediately hand over the microphone after posing a question to Trump during a press conference, a move that led CNN to sue the president.

Numerous media outlets, including Trump’s favourite network — Fox News — backed CNN in its suit against the White House, concerned over the impact of the White House’s recently unprecedented move on freedom of the press. </s> A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump White House to immediately restore the press pass of CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta as the case between Acosta, CNN and the White House progresses.

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Acosta was allowed back into the White House Friday afternoon and participated in a press gaggle on the North Lawn.

CNN filed a lawsuit suit earlier this week claiming that revoking Acosta's press pass to the White House, known as a "hard pass," violated the First Amendment.

President Trump, whose back-and-forth with Acosta, had become particularly tense over the past few months, weighed in on Friday saying that the White House is writing rules and regulations that would offer guidance related to the press corps.

"You can't take three questions and four questions and just stand up and not sit down. Decorum you have to practice decorum," Trump said in response to questions about the ruling. "We want total freedom of the press. That's very important it’s more important to me than anybody would believe. But you have to act with respect, you’re in the White House."

Carlos Barria/Reuters

U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly repeatedly emphasized that his decision to return Acosta's press pass as litigation continues was based on the Fifth Amendment, under which the judge ruled Acosta was denied his right to due process. Due process would give Acosta and CNN the chance to rebut and challenge the appropriateness of the government’s action.

“I do hold that plaintiffs have demonstrated a likelihood of success on their claim that adequate process was not provided to Mr. Acosta,” the judge said, rejecting the government's argument that statements from White House officials issued after Acosta's pass was revoked sufficed.

“Indeed, whatever process occurred within the government is still so shrouded in mystery that the government could not tell me at oral argument who made the initial decision to revoke Mr. Acosta’s press pass,” the judge added.

Acosta was stripped of his credentials, without warning, when he returned to the White House, where he works daily, after a heated exchange between Trump and Acosta at a press conference on Nov. 7.

In his closing remarks, Kelly made clear that the ruling, which is only the beginning of the court proceedings to decide Acosta’s White House access, was narrow and didn’t determine whether or not Acosta’s First Amendment right was violated.

“I want to emphasize the very limited nature of today’s ruling,” he said of his decision to grant the temporary restraining order that restores Acosta’s press pass.

“Because I’ve found that it must be granted as to the due process claim, I haven’t had to reach the plaintiffs First Amendment claim at all, in which they alleged that the government engaged in viewpoint or content discrimination,” Kelly said.

“So I want to make very clear I have not determined the First Amendment was violated here,” Kelly said, adding that he had not determined what legal standard would apply to the claim or how the 1971 case of Sherrill v. Knight, relied heavily upon by CNN’s legal team, would bind the judge, if at all.

The judge also said during the ruling, in addressing an argument from the government during the first hearing, that “the public doesn’t have a general First Amendment right to enter the White House grounds.”

“I have no quarrel with that at all,” the judge said.

But, Kelly said, Sherrill v. Knight holds that “once the White House opens up a portion of it to reporters for their use, some kind of First Amendment liberty interest protected by a due process right is created and I simply have no choice but to apply that precedent here.”

Responding to the decision, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders focused on Kelly’s comments on the First Amendment, despite the judge’s comments about his lack of a decision on that specific claim.

“Today, the court made clear that there is no absolute First Amendment right to access the White House. In response to the court, we will temporarily reinstate the reporter’s hard pass,” Sanders said.

"We will also further develop rules and processes to ensure fair and orderly press conferences in the future. There must be decorum at the White House," Sanders said.

Proceedings are expected to continue next week, and Kelly made it clear that the door was still open for changes in Acosta’s White House access.

"If at some point after restoring the hard pass the government would like to move to vacate the restraining order on the grounds that it has fulfilled its due process obligations then it may, of course, do so and I will promptly address that and then the remaining basis of the temporary restraining order."

Speaking after the ruling, Ted Boutros, an attorney for CNN said the news organization is "extremely pleased with the ruling today."

"A great day for the First Amendment and journalism," he said. "We're very excited to have Mr. Acosta be able to go back and get his hard pass and report the news about the White House."

Acosta thanked journalistic colleagues for their support and the judge for his ruling.

"Let's go back to work," Acosta said.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Earlier in the week, CNN and Acosta filed an emergency motion to have Acosta’s press pass immediately reinstated as the court case continues and asked for a ruling from Kelly, a Trump-appointed U.S. district judge.

The American Civil Liberties Union in a statement applauded Friday's ruling saying it "reaffirms that no one, not even the president, is above the law.

"The White House surely hoped that expelling a reporter would deter forceful questioning, but the court's ruling will have the opposite effect," Ben Wizner, the ACLU's director of speech, privacy and technology project wrote in a statement. "The freedom of the press is a bedrock principle, and our democracy is strengthened when journalists challenge our leaders rather than defer to them." </s> (CNN) — Federal judge Timothy J. Kelly sided with CNN on Friday, ordering the White House to reinstate chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta’s press pass.

The ruling was an initial victory for CNN in its lawsuit against President Trump and several top aides.

The lawsuit alleges that CNN and Acosta’s First and Fifth Amendment rights are being violated by the suspension of Acosta’s press pass.

Kelly did not rule on the underlying case on Friday. But he granted CNN’s request for a temporary restraining order.

This result means that Acosta will have his access to the White House restored for at least a short period of time. The judge said while explaining his decision that he believes that CNN and Acosta are likely to prevail in the case overall.

Kelly made his ruling on the basis of CNN and Acosta’s Fifth Amendment claims, saying the White House did not provide Acosta with the due process required to legally revoke his press pass.

He left open the possibility, however, that the White House could seek to revoke it again if it provided that due process, emphasizing the “very limited” nature of his ruling and saying he was not making a judgment on the First Amendment claims that CNN and Acosta have made.

Kelly was appointed to the bench by Trump last year, and confirmed with bipartisan support in the Senate.

Acosta spoke briefly outside the court and thanked his colleagues in the press who supported the lawsuit. “Let’s get back to work,” he said.

Ted Boutrous, an outside attorney representing CNN, said “This is a great day for the First Amendment and journalism.”

In a statement, CNN said, “We are gratified with this result and we look forward to a full resolution in the coming days. Our sincere thanks to all who have supported not just CNN, but a free, strong and independent American press.”

CNN has reached out to the White House to obtain Acosta’s reinstated pass and is waiting for a response, a spokesperson said.

CNN has also asked the court for “permanent relief,” meaning a declaration from the judge that Trump’s revocation of Acosta’s press pass was unconstitutional. This legal conclusion could protect other reporters from retaliation by the administration.

“The revocation of Acosta’s credentials is only the beginning,” CNN’s lawsuit alleged, pointing out that Trump has threatened to strip others’ press passes too.

That is one of the reasons why most of the country’s major news organizations have backed CNN’s lawsuit, turning this into an important test of press freedom.

But the judge will rule on all of that later. Further hearings are likely to take place in the next few weeks, according to CNN’s lawyers.

The White House took the unprecedented step of suspending Acosta’s access after he had a combative exchange with Trump at last week’s post-midterms press conference. CNN privately sought a resolution for several days before filing suit on Tuesday.

The defendants include Trump, press secretary Sarah Sanders, and chief of staff John Kelly.

Judge Kelly heard oral arguments from both sides on Wednesday afternoon.

Kelly, who has been on the federal bench just more than a year now, was very inquisitive at Wednesday’s hearing, asking tough questions of both sides, drilling particularly deep into some of CNN’s arguments.

Then he said he would issue a ruling Thursday afternoon. He later postponed it until Friday morning, leaving both sides wondering about the reason for the delay.

In public, the White House continued to argue that Acosta deserves to be blacklisted because he was too aggressive at the press conference.

Speaking with Robert Costa at a Washington Post Live event on Thursday, White House communications official Mercedes Schlapp said press conferences have a “certain decorum,” and suggested that Acosta violated that. “In that particular incident, we weren’t going to tolerate the bad behavior of this one reporter,” she said. Schlapp repeated the “bad behavior” claim several times.

When Costa asked if the White House is considering yanking other press passes, Schlapp said, “I’m not going to get into any internal deliberations that are happening.”

In court on Wednesday, Justice Department lawyer James Burnham argued that the Trump White House has the legal right to kick out any reporter at any time for any reason — a position that is a dramatic break from decades of tradition.

While responding to a hypothetical from Kelly, Burnham said that it would be perfectly legal for the White House to revoke a journalist’s press pass if it didn’t agree with their reporting. “As a matter of law… yes,” he said.

The White House Correspondents’ Association — which represents reporters from scores of different outlets — said the government’s stance is “wrong” and “dangerous.”

“Simply stated,” the association’s lawyers wrote in a brief on Thursday, “if the President were to have the absolute discretion to strip a correspondent of a hard pass, the chilling effect would be severe and the First Amendment protections afforded journalists to gather and report news on the activities on the President would be largely eviscerated.” </s> A federal judge has delayed until Friday a ruling on whether the Trump administration has to return the White House press credentials of CNN reporter Jim Acosta.

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly didn’t offer any explanation for delaying a ruling that had been expected Thursday afternoon. He’s set a court date for 10 a.m. Friday.

Kelly, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, heard arguments Wednesday from lawyers representing CNN and the Justice Department.

The news network is seeking an immediate restraining order that would force the White House to hand back Acosta’s credentials, which grant reporters as-needed access to the 18-acre complex.

Acosta has clashed repeatedly with Trump and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in briefings over the last two years. The White House revoked the pass following a combative press conference last week, a day after Republicans lost control of the House in midterm elections.

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During the hearing, the Justice Department defended the White House’s decision to strip Acosta of his press pass. The department argued that Acosta is guilty of “inappropriate grandstanding.”

The White House took the action after a heated confrontation between Acosta and President Donald Trump during a news conference last week.

In a court hearing Wednesday, Justice Department lawyer James Burnham argued that Acosta deserved to lose his access over “his refusal to comply with the general standards of a press conference.”

Burnham said that the White House is essentially Trump’s home and office and that the president has some right to decide who can and can’t be there.

“There’s no First Amendment right to access the White House grounds,” Burnham said.

Burnham also pointed out that CNN has dozens of other staffers with White House credentials, so excluding Acosta would not harm the network’s coverage.

CNN is seeking a restraining order that would force the White House to return Acosta’s press credentials.

The network’s lawyer, Theodore Boutrous, said Acosta is being singled out for his body of work, not his alleged rudeness.

“The White House has made very clear that they don’t like the content of the reporting by CNN and Jim Acosta,” Boutrous said. “Rudeness really is a code word for ‘I don’t like you being an aggressive reporter.'”

Trump, in an interview published Wednesday, told The Daily Caller that “guys like Acosta” were “bad for the country. … He’s just an average guy who’s a grandstander who’s got the guts to stand up and shout.”

A number of news organizations, including The Associated Press, have announced their intention to file amicus briefs with the court in support of CNN.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards. </s> CNN dropped its lawsuit against the White House on Monday after officials told the network that they would restore reporter Jim Acosta's press credentials as long as he abides by a series of new rules at presidential news conferences, including asking just one question at a time.

"Today the White House fully restored Jim Acosta's press pass," CNN said in a statement. "As a result, our lawsuit is no longer necessary. We look forward to continuing to cover the White House."

The White House's move to restore Acosta's pass, announced in a letter to the news network, appeared to be a capitulation to CNN in its brief legal fight against the administration. White House officials had suspended Acosta's White House press pass following a contentious news conference on Nov. 7, prompting CNN to sue last week to force the administration to return it.

Just three days ago, press secretary Sarah Sanders and deputy chief of staff Bill Shine told Acosta and CNN that they would suspend his press pass again once a temporary restraining order against such an action expired. The 14-day order was issued by a judge on Friday and was due to expire at the end of the month.

CNN went to court seeking to block that action, and on Monday the White House seemed to back down.

Sanders and Shine said they had made a "final determination" that Acosta's pass would be restored permanently as long as he followed new rules guiding reporters' conduct at White House news conferences.

In a letter to Acosta, they wrote, "Should you refuse to follow these rules in the future, we will take action" to remove the pass.

Among the rules: Reporters must ask only one question of the president at news conferences, but they can follow up with another if the president consents. A reporter must then "yield the floor," including giving up a microphone. Failure to abide by these rules, the White House letter said, will result in revocation of a journalist's White House pass.

The letter prompted CNN to end its litigation against the White House.

The new rules effectively codify what has already been traditional practice at White House press events. Acosta, however, was banned from the White House after he asked multiple questions of President Trump at the Nov. 7 news conference and briefly tangled with a White House press aide who sought to take a microphone from his hand.

The revocation precipitated a brief but colorful legal crossfire between CNN and the White House over the past 12 days.

CNN first fought back against the White House's "indefinite" suspension of Acosta, winning a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Friday that gave Acosta a reprieve for two weeks.

Then it objected to the White House's fallback position - that it would take the pass away once the TRO expired. CNN's attorney, Theodore Boutrous, told the court that such an action amounted to "retroactive due process."

He also said that the White House was attempting to impose "vague, unarticulated standards" retroactively in violation of the court's finding on Friday that Acosta wasn't given due process by the White House when it revoked his pass.

CNN had been seeking a preliminary injunction that would prevent the White House from suspending Acosta's pass until its lawsuit was resolved.

The tide seemed to turn in CNN's favor on Friday. In a ruling seen as a victory for press freedom, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly - appointed by Trump - ordered the White House to temporarily restore Acosta's press pass while he considers the merits of the case and the possibility of a permanent order.

He said the White House has an obligation to afford due process to Acosta before it can revoke or suspend his access, and found that the White House's decision-making process in this case was "so shrouded in mystery that the government could not tell me . . . who made the decision."

Trump said Friday that "we're setting up a certain standard, which is what the court is requesting," but no particular new rules had been publicly issued. On that day, after the court's order was issued, Sanders said the White House would "develop rules and processes to ensure fair and orderly press conferences in the future. There must be decorum at the White House."

Sanders initially said the press-pass suspension was due to Acosta "placing his hands" on the intern, but the White House later changed its reasoning after Sanders was widely criticized for tweeting a video of the incident that appeared to be altered to make Acosta look more aggressive. Sanders subsequently said Acosta's pass was revoked because Acosta attempted to "monopolize the floor" at the news conference.

In defending the White House's decision, Justice Department lawyers argued that it was not an infringement on the First Amendment because the network had other White House reporters who are "more than capable of covering the White House complex on CNN's behalf," and Acosta could still "practice his profession and report on the White House" - just not at the White House.

Kelly found that a reporter's "First Amendment liberty interest in a White House press pass" is protected by the Fifth Amendment's due-process guarantees. In essence, he faulted the White House for failing to establish rules and procedures for taking the action it took.

In deciding whether barring Acosta amounted to "irreparable harm," a standard for granting temporary restraining orders, Kelly pointed to the case of journalist Robert Sherrill, who fought the White House's denial of his press pass in 1977 and also won the right to due process and a restoration of his pass. </s> The White House on Monday said that CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press pass has been restored after the network filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration, CNN reported. On Friday, a federal judge ordered the White House to reinstate Acosta’s press pass.

“Today the White House fully restored Jim Acosta’s press pass,” CNN said in a statement. “As a result, our lawsuit is no longer necessary. We look forward to continuing to cover the White House.”

In a letter to Acosta, the White House said it is also establishing new rules for conduct at presidential press conferences. The rules include limiting each reporter to a single question, with follow-up questions permitted “at the discretion of the President or other White House officials”, USA Today reported quoting the letter.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in a statement said failing to follow the new rules could lead to reporters losing their press passes. “We have created these rules with a degree of regret,” she said. “We would have greatly preferred to continue hosting White House press conferences in reliance on a set of understood professional norms, and we believe the overwhelming majority of journalists covering the White House share that preference. But, given the position taken by CNN, we now feel obligated to replace previously shared practices with explicit rules.”

On November 7, the White House revoked the press pass issued to Acosta “until further notice”. The incident followed an interaction between President Donald Trump and Acosta, in which Trump called the reporter a “rude and terrible person” after he asked him several questions during a post midterm election press conference.

CNN filed a lawsuit on November 13, accusing the Trump administration of violating the First and Fifth Amendment rights of Acosta and CNN. The First Amendment protects free speech while the Fifth Amendment mandates due process of law and prohibits self-incrimination and double jeopardy. </s> The Trump White House said in a letter Monday that it is dropping its effort to suspend CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta's press pass, but set rules it said if not followed, "may result in suspension or revocation" of a journalist's credentials.

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"Your hard pass is restored," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders and deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine wrote to Acosta. "Should you refuse to follow these rules in the future, we will take action in accordance with the rules," they wrote after outlining the rules. Trump was "aware of this decision and concurs," according to the letter.

Following the letter from the White House Monday afternoon, CNN dropped the case in court.

"Today the White House fully restored Jim Acosta's press pass. As a result, our lawsuit is no longer necessary. We look forward to continuing to cover the White House," CNN said in a statement.

The letter from the White House outlines four rules: a journalist "will ask a single question and then will yield the floor to other journalists," follow-up questions will be permitted "at the discretion of the president or other White House officials taking questions," "yielding the floor" is defined as "physically surrendering" the microphone and, lastly, "failure to abide" by any of the rules may result in "suspension or revocation of the journalist's hard pass."

Acosta was stripped of his press pass without warning earlier this month after a heated exchange during a press conference with President Donald Trump one day after the midterm elections. His press pass was temporarily restored by a court order Friday and the judge ordered both legal teams to submit a status report detailing how they would like to proceed by 3 p.m. on Monday.

The Friday ruling guaranteed Acosta use of his press pass to the White House through the end of the month. But over the weekend, the White House wasted no time informing Acosta of a “preliminary decision” to suspend his pass after that period is up. Lawyers for CNN responded Monday by filing for an emergency hearing the week after Thanksgiving, “or as soon thereafter as possible.”

The letter cites “behavior” at a press conference the day after the midterms that “violated the basic standards governing such events” as the reason to suspend Acosta’s pass. It’s signed by Bill Shine, deputy chief of staff for communications, and Sarah Sanders, White House press secretary, who are both named as defendants in the initial lawsuit.

Over the weekend, Acosta and CNN’s legal team wrote back to Sanders and Shine, calling the letter an “attempt to provide retroactive due process” and requesting the White House “refrain from — yet again — violating the constitutional rights of CNN and Acosta.”

In the letter, Acosta wrote that there were "no so-called 'widely understood practices'" governing press conferences, which the White House jumped on in outlining four rules on Monday.

Evan Vucci/AP

CNN filed a lawsuit earlier this week claiming that revoking Acosta's press pass to the White House, known as a "hard pass," violated the First Amendment.

White House Correspondents' Association President Olivier Knox issued a statement saying reporters should continue to be allowed to ask follow-up questions.

"The White House did the right thing in restoring Jim Acosta's hard pass," the statement said. "The White House Correspondents' Association had no role in crafting any procedures for future press conferences. For as long as there have been White House press conferences, White House reporters have asked follow-up questions. We fully expect this tradition will continue. We will continue to make the case that a free and independent news media plays a vital role in the health of our republic," Knox said.

U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly repeatedly emphasized at the court hearing on Friday that his decision to return Acosta's press pass, with a temporary restraining order as litigation continues, was based on the Fifth Amendment, under which the judge ruled Acosta was denied his right to due process. Due process would give Acosta and CNN the chance to rebut and challenge the appropriateness of the government’s action.

In his remarks, Kelly made clear that the ruling, which is only the beginning of the court proceedings to decide Acosta’s White House access, was narrow and didn’t determine whether or not Acosta’s First Amendment right was violated.

ABC News' Jonathan Karl contributed to this report.
U.S. federal district judge Timothy J. Kelly orders the Secret Service to temporarily restore Jim Acosta's White House press pass.