WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge agreed Friday to block the Trump administration from enforcing a policy limiting news reporters’ access to the Pentagon, agreeing with The New York Times that key portions of the new rules are unlawful.
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., sided with the newspaper and ruled that the Pentagon policy illegally restricts the press credentials of reporters who walked out of the building rather than agree to the new rules.
WATCH: Journalists leave Pentagon rather than agree to new reporting rules
The Times sued the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in December, claiming the credentialing policy violates the journalists’ constitutional rights to free speech and due process. The current Pentagon press corps is comprised mostly of conservative outlets that agreed to the policy. Reporters from outlets that refused to consent to the new rules, including from The Associated Press, have continued reporting on the military.
Friedman, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Bill Clinton, said the policy “fails to provide fair notice of what routine, lawful journalistic practices will result in the denial, suspension, or revocation” of Pentagon press credentials. He ruled that it violates the First and Fifth amendment rights to free speech and due process.
Times attorney Theodore Boutrous said in a statement that the court ruling is “a powerful rejection of the Pentagon’s effort to impede freedom of the press and the reporting of vital information to the American people during a time of war.”
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling. It has argued that the policy imposes “common sense” rules that protect the military from the disclosure of national security information.
Times attorneys claim the policy is designed to silence unfavorable press coverage of President Donald Trump’s administration.
The judge said he recognizes that “national security must be protected, the security of our troops must be protected, and war plans must be protected.”
“The undisputed evidence shows that the policy is designed to weed out ‘disfavored journalists’ and replace them with those who are ‘on board and willing to serve’ the government, a clear instance of illegal viewpoint discrimination,” the judge wrote.
The Pentagon had asked the judge to suspend his ruling for a week for an appeal. Friedman refused.
The judge ordered the Pentagon to reinstate the press credentials of seven Times journalists. But he said his decision to vacate the challenged policy terms applies to “all regulated parties.” Friedman gave the Pentagon a week to file a written report on its compliance with the order.
Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.
