President Donald Trump on Monday defended his decision to bar reporters from three news organizations — CNN, MS NOW and Politico — from the White House after they announced a lawsuit to challenge the move.

“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,” Trump claimed in a Truth Social post, despite his track record of targeting journalists.

“It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America,” he said. “It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!”

Journalists working for the three outlets were barred from entering the White House, and their press passes were seized by the Secret Service on Saturday.

As expected, the outlets notified the White House they would sue over the president’s ban, making clear that they would defend “the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.”

The lawsuit is expected to focus on the president’s vague explanation for instituting the ban, CNN previously reported.

The outlets are accusing Trump of announcing the policy “for the improper purpose of retaliating against Plaintiffs for past news coverage because he deemed it ‘negative’ and chilling future reporting about him and his administration’s policies and actions.”

The lawsuit states, according to MS NOW, “This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles.”

Trump announced the ban last week, baselessly accusing the news organizations of spreading lies about him and his administration. He also warned that other outlets could also be next on his list.

Trump has launched an unprecedented assault on the First Amendment during his time in office. He has filed numerous lawsuits against news organizations, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC, repeatedly berated reporters — especially women — for asking tough questions, and his Justice Department has sought to subpoena journalists over their reporting.

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