Judge Blocks Pentagon From Requiring Escorts for Journalists
The ruling cites Secretary Hegseth’s anti-media remarks and pauses a policy that would have required escorts for all Pentagon reporters.
- On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman blocked the Pentagon from enforcing its policy requiring journalists to be escorted through the premises at all times, granting the New York Times a temporary reprieve.
- Following an earlier court ruling, the Pentagon implemented interim guidelines in March; defense officials argued the escort rule protected sensitive information, while the Times contended the policy was retaliatory and hindered newsgathering.
- Rejecting the Pentagon's rationale, Judge Friedman cited Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's disparaging remarks about the media as evidence of a retaliatory motive, describing the department's security arguments as "facially dubious."
- Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell criticized the decision, stating the department intends to appeal; Parnell argued the court's order "effectively restores that risky environment" for sensitive information.
- Invoking the nation's 250th anniversary this week, Judge Friedman emphasized the founders believed security requires an informed public, maintaining that the Pentagon's suppression of political speech risks abandoning constitutional principles protecting a free press.
17 Articles
17 Articles
The New York Times has won an interim victory in the dispute over access restrictions for journalists in the U.S. Department of Defense.
Pete Hegseth handed yet another court loss for curtailing reporters
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth suffered yet another loss in his legal fight to control the Pentagon press corps.In a brief order issued on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman issued a preliminary injunction in favor of The New York Times, barring Hegseth from enforcing a policy that effectively requires members of the press to be led around by an escort in the Pentagon unless they agree to an onerous set of restrictions on their activi…
Hegseth Loses Another Press Access Battle With NYT
The New York Times reports: A federal judge ordered the Pentagon on Tuesday to temporarily lift a requirement that all journalists visiting the building be accompanied by an official escort while The New York Times sues to overturn the rule. The decision was another rebuke to the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict reporters who cover the military complex. In a preliminary ruling, Judge Paul L. Friedman, of the U.S. District Court for the…
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