WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is asking a federal judge to reject a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists from the White House grounds. The department’s filing came late Tuesday, Sept. 22, one day before an emergency hearing in federal court in Washington, D.C. The three news organizations sued Monday after the administration revoked their press credentials and blocked their reporters from entering the White House. The government argues that White House access is a privilege rather than a constitutional right. It says Trump acted after concluding that the outlets had failed to meet what the administration described as minimum standards of professionalism and decorum, while also publishing sensitive or classified information. Letters included with the filing accuse CNN and MS NOW of endangering national security or spreading falsehoods in reports about construction of an East Wing bunker and alleged shortages in U.S. ammunition stocks during the Iran war. The administration also challenged Politico’s reporting about the lifting of sanctions on Russia and criticized its coverage of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, calling the gathering “a disaster.” The White House letters were dated Sept. 22, four days after Trump first denied the outlets access. The administration gave the organizations until Friday to submit written complaints contesting the decision. The news organizations’ lawsuit says the government cannot punish them for their reporting. It alleges that the ban violates their First Amendment protections and their Fifth Amendment right to due process because the administration removed their access without adequate warning or an opportunity to appeal. The dispute is the latest in a series of conflicts between the Trump administration and news organizations. During Trump’s first term, the White House revoked the press credentials of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta before restoring them after a legal challenge. The administration also barred the Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One over the wire service’s refusal to use Trump’s preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico; that case remains in court. Trump said Friday that the latest ban was not prompted by any single report, but by what he characterized as two years of unfair and negative coverage. The court’s decision could further define the limits on a president’s power to control access to the White House while determining whether government officials may exclude journalists in response to their reporting.