Reading Room Document

Revocation of White House Press Passes

In this memo, the OLC considered the proposed revocation of White House press passes for several reporters working for Soviet news organizations. The OLC based its reasoning on the standard set by Sherrill v. Knight, 659 F. 2d 124 (1977), where the court found that Washington-based correspondents had a First Amendment right to not be denied a press pass “arbitrarily or for less than compelling reasons” if similarly situated member of the press were given regular access to the White House press facilities. Based on the Sherill decision, the OLC concluded that denying a White House press pass to the Soviet correspondents at issue could not be described as “arbitrary” because the revocation would substantially further U.S. foreign policy. Furthermore, the OLC noted that due to principles of separation of powers, a court would not examine the validity of this type of foreign policy decision. In terms of due process considerations, the OLC concluded that under notice requirement in Sherrill, the Soviet reporters were only entitled to a written statement explaining that the revocation of their passes was in retaliation for the actions their government-employer took against members of the American press in Moscow.

July 20, 1978