New York Times sues Pentagon over press access policy

The New York Times is suing the Department of War over its new policy that bars journalists from entering the Pentagon for not adhering to its newsgathering terms.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., names the Times and its intelligence reporter Julian Barnes as the plaintiffs and lists the Department of War, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell as the defendants.

The Times claims the Pentagon violated the paper’s First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights when it implemented the policy, which the Times says gives 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 alleges 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.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Pentagon and White House for comment.

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The filing cites the DC Circuit court ruling on Sherrill v. Knight in 1972 that requires due process for press credentials as well as Karem v. Trump in 2020, when then-Playboy reporter Brian Karem had his White House press credentials restored after the court ruled Karem’s due process rights were violated when they were initially pulled during the first Trump administration.

“The policy—which vests Department officials with unbridled discretion to immediately suspend and ultimately revoke a reporter’s PFAC for engaging in lawful newsgathering, both on and off Pentagon grounds, or for reporting any information Department officials have not approved—is neither reasonable nor viewpoint-neutral,” the suit states.

At another point it adds, “The Policy marks a radical departure from longstanding tradition, violates the Due Process Clause and the First Amendment, and is inflicting irreparable harm on The Times and its reporters, including Barnes, and on the American public.”

“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,” Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The Pentagon’s policy has been widely rejected by dozens of news organizations. The Times stands with fellow news organizations across digital, print and broadcast media, including many conservative outlets, in strongly opposing this unprecedented policy.” 

The statement continues, “The journalism produced by The Times and other outlets who refused to sign this policy provides critical information to the American public about the actions the U.S. military undertakes in their name and financial expense, and serves members of the military by reporting on matters of health, safety, housing and foreign deployments. 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. The Times intends to vigorously defend against the violation of these rights, just as we have long done throughout administrations opposed to scrutiny and accountability.”

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A senior attorney at The New York Times told Fox News Digital that “there were discussions” with other news organizations about possibly filing a joint lawsuit, but the newspaper ultimately decided to go ahead on its own, although it welcomes other news organizations in filing additional lawsuits.

Lawyers for the Times said they chose to move forward with its lawsuit in the wake of the Pentagon’s press briefing on Tuesday, the first since the policy was implemented, and cited remarks by Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson, who referred to news outlets who were pushed out as “propagandists” who “stopped telling the truth.”

“It’s potent evidence of viewpoint discrimination, content discrimination that violates the First Amendment,” a senior attorney on the case told Fox News Digital.

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The Pentagon Press Association issued a statement praising the Times’ lawsuit, saying the War Department’s policy “is antithetical to a free and independent press and prohibited by the First Amendment.”

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.