New York Times Alleges Pentagon Orchestrating ‘Unprecedented’ Assault on Press Freedom Through New Access Rules

The New York Times is launching a legal war against the Pentagon, charging that the Department of Defense has orchestrated a sweeping and “unprecedented” assault on the free press by systematically purging traditional reporters and replacing them with pro-Trump digital influencers.The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., targets the department, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and chief spokesman Sean Parnell directly and demands that a federal judge dismantle controversial access rules imposed in October which required beat reporters to sign a 21-page form that set limits on their activities, including requests for story tips and source inquiries.In a summary of the new lawsuit, the Times maintains that the DoD is seeking with their new policy “to close the doors of the Pentagon — those areas that have historically been open to the press — to news organizations, like plaintiffs, that investigate and report without fear or favor about the actions of the department and its leadership.”The newspaper says that they are asking the court to stop the Pentagon from enforcing the new policy and declare that the provisions are an unlawful violation of the First Amendment.“As a result of the Department’s implementation of this policy earlier this year, journalists reporting on the U.S. military face loss of their press credentials for doing nothing more than bringing facts to light on behalf of the public, one of the core tenets of the free press in a democracy,” the Times said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.“The policy is an attempt to exert control over reporting the government dislikes, in violation of a free press’ right to seek information under their First and Fifth Amendment rights protected by the Constitution.”Earlier this year, dozens of reporters took a defiant stand when the policy went into effect, surrendering their press badges and walking away from the Pentagon rather than submit to the new credentialing requirements.All but one outlet, One America News Network, publicly refused to agree to the new terms. The five major broadcasters — NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, and Fox News Media — said in a joint statement at the time that they would not agree to the new rules.“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,” the networks said.

New York Times Alleges Pentagon Orchestrating ‘Unprecedented’ Assault on Press Freedom Through New Access Rules

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