New York Times Challenges Pentagon's Unconstitutional Media Restrictions in Federal Lawsuit

United States:

The New York Times launched a legal challenge against the Pentagon on Thursday, filing a lawsuit that claims the Defense Department's new media policy violates constitutional rights. The Times is seeking judicial intervention to prevent the implementation of these restrictive measures.

Several major news organizations, including AFP, Associated Press, Fox News and The New York Times, refused to accept the Pentagon's new media guidelines in mid-October, resulting in the revocation of their Pentagon press credentials.

According to the Times' legal complaint, the Pentagon policy "in violation of the First Amendment seeks to restrict journalists' ability to do what journalists have always done -- ask questions of government employees and gather information to report stories that take the public beyond official pronouncements."

The lawsuit further states that the policy allows Pentagon officials to "immediately suspend and ultimately revoke" journalists' credentials if they publish anything not pre-approved by Defense officials, with decisions made "without any standards to guide" them.

This restrictive media policy represents the latest in a series of moves limiting press access to information from the Pentagon, which operates as the nation's largest single employer with an annual budget in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

Earlier this year, the Defense Department ordered eight prominent media organizations, including the Times, Washington Post, CNN, NBC and NPR, to vacate their dedicated office spaces within the Pentagon. Officials claimed they needed to create space for other outlets, predominantly those with conservative leanings.

Additionally, the Pentagon now requires journalists to be accompanied by official escorts when moving outside designated areas within the building, adding yet another restriction on press freedom, while holding only a limited number of press briefings this year.

Media organizations that declined to sign the new policy have been replaced by media personalities who demonstrate support for the Trump administration. These Trump-friendly journalists were granted access to the Pentagon press secretary's first on-camera briefing this week, while those outlets whose credentials were revoked were explicitly excluded from the event.