New York Times sues Pete Hegseth over Pentagon media rules

New York Times A lawsuit was filed Thursday challenging new restrictions on reporters covering the Pentagon, which the paper says violates the U.S. Constitution’s protections of a free press.

The lawsuit against the Department of Defense and Secretary Pete Hegseth comes nearly two months after reporters from The Times and other mainstream news organizations, including CBS, CNN and Fox News, filed suit against the Department of Defense and Secretary Pete Hegseth. NBC staged a dramatic walkout They surrendered their credentials after refusing to comply with the Pentagon’s rules.

These broadcasts were replaced by reporters generally sympathetic to the Trump administration.

The Pentagon gave a presentation to reporters with desks there in October. 21 page rule book This prohibits journalists from seeking or publishing information not expressly authorized by the Department of Defense, even if the material is not classified or was obtained outside Pentagon borders.

Outlets that refused to comply with the rules lost their Pentagon credentials.

The Times’ lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., asks a judge to block the Pentagon from enforcing the policy and declare it unconstitutional.

“This policy, which violates the First Amendment, seeks to restrict journalists’ ability to do what journalists have always done: ask questions of government employees and gather information to report stories that move the public beyond official statements,” the lawsuit states.

The rules “deprive the public of vital information about the U.S. military and its leadership,” the lawsuit states.

The complaint also states that the Department of Defense gives itself “unfettered discretion” to enforce the rules as it sees fit.

Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Sean Parnell, who is named as a defendant in the case, said in a statement to CNBC that the Department of Defense was “aware of the New York Times case and [looks] “I look forward to addressing these allegations in court.”

The Times immediately responded to a request for comment.

The Pentagon’s media rules were the latest step in Hegseth’s broader effort to reshape the press corps.

Since coming to the department in January after a contentious confirmation fight, Hegseth has eliminated in-house workspaces at many national broadcasters, tightened rules on where reporters can move within the building and reassigned offices to conservative outlets and pro-Trump media figures willing to sign the deal.

Including press freedom advocates Reporters Committee for Freedom of the PressThey say the Pentagon’s policy goes beyond past fights over individual White House press badges. They argue that the rules apply to the entire press corps rather than targeting individual reporters and give the Pentagon broad authority to revoke access based on the stories they cover.

“The Pentagon’s press access policy is illegal because it gives government officials unchecked power to decide who can get a license and who can’t, something the First Amendment prohibits,” said Vice Chairman of Policy at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Gabe Rotman He said in a statement on Thursday after the Times filed the lawsuit.