WASHINGTON — A federal judge said Wednesday that the White House may have violated the constitutional rights of CNN, Politico and MS NOW by abruptly barring their journalists from the White House grounds. U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, a 2017 Trump appointee, heard emergency arguments after the three news organizations sued to restore the permanent press credentials of reporters who had been locked out since Sept. 19. Kelly did not rule immediately but said he would decide the request as soon as possible. The case centers on whether the administration can exclude news organizations from the White House press pool and building based on their coverage of the president. In opening remarks, Kelly indicated that the government’s actions appeared to conflict with due-process protections recognized in earlier court decisions. The outlets’ attorney, Theodore Boutrous, argued that the ban was imposed without a meaningful opportunity for the organizations to respond. He said the administration was retaliating against CNN, Politico and MS NOW for reporting it disliked and described the case as “probably the clearest case in history” of viewpoint discrimination. President Donald Trump said before the ban that the outlets “purposely write negative news” and were trying to diminish Republicans and his administration. White House letters cited by the Justice Department criticized reporting on subjects including an alleged secure bunker beneath a planned White House ballroom, negotiations with Iran and the atmosphere at a Republican convention in Dallas. Justice Department attorney Michael Velchik defended the restrictions, telling the court that access to the White House is a privilege rather than a constitutional right. He also pointed to national security concerns in arguing that the ban should remain in place. Boutrous disputed that rationale, saying national security was not raised until days after the outlets were excluded. He also said the news organizations faced immediate and irreparable harm because they could not cover the administration during wartime or report on Trump’s scheduled White House meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. A temporary order restoring access would allow the journalists to return while the broader lawsuit proceeds. The dispute has drawn renewed attention to the role of independent news organizations in covering the presidency and to the limits on government control over access to public officials.