Federal judge rules Pentagon policy restricting press access unconstitutional, hands victory to New York Times
The New York Times is touting a victory after a federal judge ruled against the Pentagon's press access policy implemented last year.
US District Judge Paul Friedman of Washington, DC, slapped down a policy requiring journalists to agree to specific conditions in order to be granted access to the Pentagon, something the Times argued violated its First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights.
"The record evidence supports the conclusion that the Policy discriminates not based on political viewpoint but rather based on editorial viewpoint—that is, whether the individual or organization is willing to publish only stories that are favorable to or spoon-fed by Department leadership," Friedman ruled.
Friedman continued, "The undisputed evidence reflects the Policy's true purpose and practical effect: to weed out disfavored journalists—those who were not, in the Department's view, 'on board and willing to serve'—and replace them with news entities that are. That is viewpoint discrimination, full stop… The Policy thus violates the First Amendment."
The judge also wrote the policy violates the Fifth Amendment, writing, "the Policy fails to provide fair notice of what routine, lawful journalistic practices will result in the denial, suspension, or revocation of a PFAC."
"The Policy on its face makes any newsgathering and reporting not blessed by the Department a potential basis for the denial, suspension, or revocation of a journalist’s PFAC. It provides no way for journalists to know how they may do their jobs without losing their credentials. The Policy therefore is vague in violation of the Fifth Amendment," Friedman ruled.
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The New York Times was pleased with the judge's decision.
"The New York Times welcomes today’s ruling, which enforces the constitutionally protected rights for the free press in this country," Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander told Fox News Digital.
Stadtlander 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. Today’s ruling reaffirms the right of The Times and other independent media to continue to ask questions on the public’s behalf.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell responded to the ruling, writing on X, "We disagree with the decision and are pursuing an immediate appeal."
The Times' lawsuit said the policy gave the Pentagon "standardless discretion" to punish reporters without due process by revoking their press badges based on the policy's "incurably vague language" on how they go about their newsgathering. The Times also alleged viewpoint discrimination, pointing to several reporters and outlets who were invited to Tuesday's press briefing after having signed the Pentagon's pledge and are outspoken supporters of President Donald Trump.
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Many news organizations pushed back against the policy when it was first implemented in October.
"[W]e join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon’s new requirements, which would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues. The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections. We will continue to cover the U.S. military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press," ABC News, CBS News, CNN, FOX News Media and NBC News previously said in a joint statement.