Body
A federal judge ruled Thursday that the Pentagon is violating a court order meant to restore access for reporters at the Pentagon, a setback for the administration’s efforts to limit journalists’ work. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman sided again with The New York Times, saying the Defense Department attempted to avoid his March 20 ruling by adopting new credential rules that would expel reporters from the building unless they are guided by escorts.
Friedman issued the order in response to arguments that the Pentagon’s revised policy did not comply with what he had previously ordered. In his ruling, Friedman said, “The department simply cannot reinstate an unlawful policy under the guise of taking ‘new’ action and expect the court to look the other way,” according to the decision as quoted in a report by the Associated Press.
Friedman had previously ordered Pentagon officials to reinstate the press credentials of seven Times reporters. He also stressed that the decision applied broadly, saying it was for “all regulated parties,” and described the Pentagon building as the headquarters for U.S. military operations.
On Thursday, the judge concluded that the Defense Department did not meet the requirements of that earlier order. Friedman said the access the Pentagon made available to permit holders was “not even close to as meaningful as the broad access” reporters previously had, according to the Associated Press account.
Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell said the department disagreed with the ruling and planned to appeal. In a social media post, Parnell said the department “at all times” complied with the judge’s orders, reinstating journalists’ credentials and issuing “a materially revised policy that addressed every concern” identified by the judge. Parnell added that the department remained committed to press access at the Pentagon while fulfilling what he described as its obligation to ensure “the safe and secure operation of the Pentagon Reservation.”
The Times attorney Theodore Boutrous said the latest ruling “powerfully vindicates both the Court’s authority and the First Amendment’s protections of independent journalism,” the Associated Press reported. Friedman’s decision followed earlier litigation that began after the Pentagon changed its credential approach, prompting a dispute that grew after reporters from mainstream news organizations walked out of the building in October rather than accept the new rules.
The Times sued the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in December, and this month’s developments have been part of a continuing legal fight over the administration’s handling of press credentials. MSI previously reported that The New York Times said the Pentagon flouted Friedman’s order on reporter access in late March.
Friedman said he saw military operations in Venezuela and Iran as underscoring the need for public access to information about government activities. He also said the challenged policy was designed to weed out “disfavored journalists” and replace them with reporters who were “on board and willing to serve” the administration, describing it as “viewpoint discrimination, full stop.”
The administration and its lawyers have argued that the revised policy complies with the judge’s directives and that the court order does not prevent the Pentagon from addressing security concerns through press credentialing conditions. Pentagon and government lawyers said the new approach complied with Friedman’s instructions, and the Pentagon Press Association—which includes Associated Press reporters—said the interim policy preserved provisions the judge found unconstitutional while adding new restrictions on credential holders.