The New York Times filed its second lawsuit against the Defense Department within five months on Monday, challenging a policy that requires journalists to be escorted by a Pentagon employee whenever they are on the department’s grounds. The Times, in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, argued that the escort requirement amounts to an unconstitutional prior restraint on newsgathering and violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of press freedom. The legal battle, which MSI has previously tracked as it unfolded, marks an escalating confrontation between the military and independent media.
Times spokesman Charlie Stadtlander said in a statement that the escort policy represents “an unconstitutional attempt by the Pentagon to prevent independent reporting on military affairs.” He added: “Americans deserve visibility into how their government is being run, and the actions the military is taking in their name and with their tax dollars.”
Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell responded on X, calling the Times’ latest lawsuit “nothing more than an attempt to remove the barriers to them getting their hands on classified information.” The Pentagon has not filed a formal response to the complaint.
The escort rule, introduced under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, requires any journalist visiting the Pentagon for interviews or reporting to be accompanied by a department employee at all times. News organizations have criticized the policy as a burden that chills independent reporting by subjecting interactions with sources to government monitoring. The Times’ first lawsuit, filed in late 2025 or early 2026, challenged a separate set of access restrictions, including the revocation of press credentials and the closure of designated media workspaces.
Monday’s filing renews a confrontation that has already drawn multiple court rulings. In March, a federal judge blocked a Pentagon policy that limited reporters’ access to news briefings, and in April another judge ruled that the department could temporarily enforce the escort requirement while its appeal of that order proceeds. The Times has signaled it will continue to litigate the issue to establish that the escort policy cannot survive First Amendment scrutiny.