A federal judge in Washington will convene a hearing Monday morning to examine whether the Defense Department has ignored a court directive aimed at protecting journalist access to the Pentagon.
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman has set the session for 9:30 a.m. EST to consider the New York Times’ motion demanding the Pentagon follow through with his earlier court decision.
Last October, under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s leadership, the Pentagon announced that reporters could face security risk designations and lose their press credentials if they attempted to obtain classified or certain unclassified materials from military personnel without proper authorization.
Among the 56 media organizations that make up the Pentagon Press Association, just one outlet agreed to sign off on acknowledging this policy. Reporters who refused to sign were forced to turn in their press passes to Pentagon officials.
Judge Friedman determined on March 20 that elements of the Defense Department’s credentialing policy infringed upon constitutional protections for news gathering activities and due process rights.
The judge then issued a court injunction demanding the immediate restoration of media credentials for Pentagon reporters.
However, the New York Times, serving as the primary plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging Hegseth’s policy, informed Friedman last week that the Pentagon had failed to follow his directive. Instead, the Times argued, the Defense Department introduced what it termed a new “interim” policy that contradicts the court’s decision.
According to the Times, this policy requires reporters with press passes to have escorts when entering the building, establishes guidelines dictating when journalists may grant source anonymity, and maintains other restrictions that the court order had previously struck down.
In Friday court documents, the Pentagon disputed claims that it violated Friedman’s previous ruling. “The Department was careful to address all of the legal defects that the court perceived in the prior policy,” Pentagon officials stated.
The Pentagon Press Association characterized the Defense Department’s updated regulations as “a clear violation of the letter and spirit” of Friedman’s decision. The association’s membership includes Reuters, the Times, ABC News, Fox News, and numerous other media organizations.
