A federal judge on Friday granted CNN's request for a court order that would temporarily reinstate network correspondent Jim Acosta's White House press pass, which had been suspended indefinitely in the wake of a fiery exchange between the reporter and President Donald Trump a week earlier. The ruling from Judge Timothy Kelly, who was appointed by Trump, gave CNN a victory in the ongoing case. "I want to thank all of my colleagues in the press who supported us this week, and I want to thank the judge for the decision he made today," Acosta said outside U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. "Let's go back to work!" he added. In a statement later on Friday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the Trump administration will return Acosta's pass. "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. We will also further develop rules and processes to ensure fair and orderly press conferences in the future," Sanders said. "There must be decorum at the White House." Trump said the White House was already drafting rules of conduct during an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace later Friday. Asked about the judge's ruling on Acosta, Trump said, "It's not a big deal and if he misbehaves, we'll throw him out or we'll stop the news conference." The president also claimed he was a firm believer in press freedom, but said he will shut down future press interactions if a reporter is "acting out of sorts." "I will say this, look, nobody believes in the First Amendment more than I do and if I think somebody is acting out of sorts I will leave. I will say thank you very much everybody, I appreciate you coming and I'll leave," Trump told Wallace.

CNN's Jim Acosta walks out of the U.S. District Courthouse, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Washington. U.S. Jose Luis Magana | AP

CNN's lawsuit, announced Tuesday, argues that Acosta's constitutional rights had been violated by Trump and five other members of his administration, as well as by the U.S. Secret Service. The other defendants include Sanders, chief of staff John Kelly, deputy chief of staff Bill Shine and Secret Service Director Randolph Alles. In a statement, CNN and Acosta said they "look forward to a full resolution in the coming days." CNN PR tweet The legal challenge came in response to the Trump administration's decision last week to yank Acosta's "hard pass," which gave him access to the White House grounds, after Acosta clashed with the president at a news conference earlier that same day. The suit underscored Trump's increasingly hostile relationship with many mainstream media outlets, which he regularly decries as "fake news" and "the enemy of the people." CNN had sought a resolution behind the scenes for several days before filing suit against the White House, according to the network. The network had argued that the White House infringed on Acosta's free press and due process rights under the First and Fifth amendments to the U.S. Constitution. CNN was asking for an order that would temporarily reverse the White House's suspension of Acosta's hard pass, until a final decision on the lawsuit was reached. CNN also wants "a declaration that the revocation of Acosta's press credentials was unconstitutional." Kelly granted CNN's request for a temporary restraining order, ruling that the White House had violated Acosta's due process. He ordered both parties to file a joint status report next week on how to proceed in the case. CNN asked the judge to quickly rule on the request for a temporary restraining order, arguing that "every day that passes without Acosta regaining his press credentials is a concrete injury." Justice Department lawyers replied in a court filing that suspending the pass was "lawful" and that the White House held "broad discretion to regulate" journalists' access to the grounds.

Acosta has often used stark language to challenge the White House on its policies. At the most recent White House press briefing on Oct. 29, Acosta grilled Sanders on Trump's use of the phrase "enemy of the people" to describe the media. "If you're going to stand there and continue to say there are some journalists and news outlets in this country that meet that characterization, shouldn't you have the guts, Sarah, to state which outlets, which journalists are the enemy of the people?" Acosta asked. Trump has specifically targeted both CNN and Acosta for their coverage of him and his presidency. In January 2017, Trump, who was then president-elect, tore into Acosta at a news conference, saying "your organization is terrible" and "you are fake news." The rift between Acosta and the White House widened substantially at a Nov. 7 news conference the day after the midterm elections, where Trump claimed victory even after Democrats regained majority control of the House. During a lengthy question-and-answer period, Acosta rebuked Trump for referring to a caravan of Central American migrants as an "invasion," and asked if the president thought he was demonizing immigrants. Trump became visibly agitated with Acosta when the reporter continued asking follow-up questions after Trump tried to move on to other reporters. A female White House staffer walked up to Acosta and tried to snatch the microphone from his hand, but Acosta initially refused to give it up. "Pardon me, ma'am," Acosta said as he continued to question Trump. "I think you should let me run the country. You run CNN. And if you did it well, your ratings would be much better," Trump told him at the time. "You are a rude, terrible person," the president added. CNN's court filing notes that the White House's initial account of the incident — which was also its first justification for suspending Acosta's hard pass — was incorrect. In a series of tweets Nov. 7, Sanders said the Trump administration will "never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern." Sanders tweet Video footage of the event does not show Acosta putting his hands on the woman, who had walked up to him and reached across his torso to grab the microphone.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders holds the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, August 22, 2018. Leah Millis | Reuters