A federal judge in Washington ordered the Pentagon on Thursday to restore full press access for credentialed journalists, ruling that the Department of Defense failed to comply with an earlier court decision.
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman found that the Pentagon obstructed reporters and did not fully implement his March 20 ruling, which held that the DoD’s 2025 press policy violated the First Amendment. The earlier order required officials to reinstate press credentials for reporters covering the Pentagon, including journalists from The New York Times and other outlets covering the U.S. military.
Friedman said the Pentagon could not sidestep his ruling by issuing a revised policy that preserved core restrictions.
“The department simply cannot reinstate an unlawful policy under the guise of taking ‘new’ action and expect the court to look the other way,” Friedman wrote, as reported by The Hill.
The Pentagon said it will appeal the decision. Chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said the department disagrees with the ruling and maintains it complied with the court’s directive.
“The Department disagrees with the Court’s ruling and intends to appeal,” Parnell said to The Hill’s partner, NewsNation. “The Department has at all times complied with the Court’s Order — it reinstated the PFACs of every journalist identified in the Order and issued a materially revised policy that addressed every concern the Court identified in its March 20 opinion. The Department remains committed to press access at the Pentagon while fulfilling its statutory obligation to ensure the safe and secure operation of the Pentagon Reservation.”
The dispute centers on a press access framework introduced last year that required journalists to sign restrictive agreements governing how they could obtain and use information, including unclassified material. More than 50 reporters declined to sign the pledge and lost their Pentagon credentials.
The move is designed to stop internal leaks that the DoD said undermined Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and hindered the Pentagon’s operations.
In December, The New York Times filed a lawsuit against the DoD challenging its new press access policy, saying it restricts how journalists cover the Pentagon and which outlets can enter the building. The complaint alleges the rules violate the First and Fifth Amendments by limiting reporters’ ability to question officials and gather information beyond official government statements.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public/David B. Gleason from Chicago, Illinois, CC BY SA 2.0)
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