xxxxx
Judge Rejects Hegseth’s Second Attempt to Restrict Reporters at Pentagon
A federal judge gutted a set of rules that were adopted after the court declared an earlier press policy unconstitutional, in a case brought by The New York Times.
Reporting from Washington
A federal judge on Thursday rejected an attempt by the Pentagon to impose a new set of restrictions on journalists who hold credentials to cover the military complex, in another blow to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s attempts to control the media.
The order, from Judge Paul Friedman of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, declared that the new policy was essentially unconstitutional. With its new rules, the Pentagon changed the wording of a provision barring journalists from seeking confidential information from government sources.
Judge Friedman added that the Pentagon had “failed” to reinstate the press passes of several New York Times reporters.
It was the second time that Judge Friedman had tossed parts of the Pentagon’s press policy. He ruled last month that major parts of the previous policy, which also sought to restrict certain journalistic activities, were unconstitutional in a case brought by The Times.
Mr. Hegseth has maintained an adversarial stance toward the press since he took over the Defense Department. He has repeatedly taken steps to limit reporters’ access to the Pentagon complex, including closing the on-site workspace that credentialed journalists had used for years and scaling back the areas where they could roam without an escort.
A spokesman for the Pentagon, Sean Parnell, said it disagreed with the ruling and would appeal. “The department remains committed to press access at the Pentagon while fulfilling its statutory obligation to ensure the safe and secure operation” of the complex, he said.
The Times had accused the Defense Department of using the new rules to try to make an “end run” around the original decision. A spokesman for The Times said the decision on Thursday “sends a clear message to the Pentagon” about following the judge’s order.
“Compliance with a lawful order of a court is not optional; it is required in a democracy committed to the rule of law,” the spokesman said.
Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., a First Amendment lawyer representing The Times in the case, said, “This ruling powerfully vindicates both the court’s authority and the First Amendment’s protections of independent journalism.”
The rejection is the latest twist in a dispute reaching back to October, when the Pentagon changed its rules for journalists covering the military, leading to a walkout by journalists from traditional news outlets who refused to sign the policy. The Times sued the Pentagon in December, arguing that the restrictions violated the First and Fifth Amendments.
Along with the Pentagon’s most recent press policy came the harshest restrictions on journalists’ access to the complex. It closed the workspace for credentialed journalists on the national security beat and required reporter escorts throughout the building.
Judge Friedman took a dim view of those changes on Thursday, writing that they “are not security measures or efforts to make good on prior commitments but rather transparent attempts to negate the impact of this court’s order.”
The judge ordered that Times journalists be accorded the same level of access that they enjoyed at the time of the first ruling. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a question about whether it would reopen the workspace.
Another key part of Thursday’s order pertained to restrictions on questions that journalists pose to military personnel. The October policy adopted rules governing the “solicitation” of information from Pentagon sources, with the prospect of punishment if journalists sought information in certain circumstances.
The revised policy adopted a new term for solicitation and spelled out situations in which reporters would be held harmless for their inquiries.
Judge Friedman tossed the new language.
“The latter is impermissible for the same reasons as the former,” he wrote.
Judge Friedman told the Defense Department to submit a report by next Thursday certifying compliance with the requirements.
No comments:
Post a Comment