New York Times files lawsuit against Pentagon for violating First Amendment rights

The New York Times has initiated legal action against the Pentagon, arguing that recent guidelines limiting how journalists report on the U.S. military infringe upon First Amendment protections. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, targets a 21-page agreement Pentagon journalists were instructed to sign in October, claiming it is both illegal and unconstitutional.

In response to the policy, numerous journalists, including six from The New York Times, returned their Pentagon credentials in protest. According to the lawsuit, the Department of Defense's new regulations "aim to limit reporters ability to perform the core functions of journalismasking questions of government personnel and collecting information to provide the public with news beyond official statements."

The Times legal filing asserts that it will "vigorously protect these rights, consistent with our longstanding commitment to accountability and transparency across all administrations."

A Times spokesperson commented, "This policy seeks to control coverage that the government finds unfavorable, infringing on a free presss constitutional right to access information under the First and Fifth Amendments."

The lawsuit lists the Department of Defense, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell as defendants, and is brought by The New York Times Company along with one of its defense reporters.

The Pentagon has stated that the guidelines are intended to prevent unauthorized leaks that could compromise operational and national security, and not to single out any specific news organization. The new rules faced strong criticism from multiple media outlets, and five major broadcasters, including NBC News, refused to sign the agreement in October.

The legal complaint argues that the Pentagons policy "represents the kind of speech- and press-limiting action that the Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit have previously deemed unconstitutional." The regulations bar the collection or publication of information not explicitly approved by the government, including declassified material and off-the-record discussions, whether obtained on or off Pentagon property. Noncompliance with the agreement could result in loss of Pentagon access.

Earlier in the year, the Department of Defense announced the removal of several news outlets from in-house workstations as part of an "annual media rotation program," which included outlets such as Breitbart News, One America News Network, the New York Post, and HuffPost.

Author: Harper Simmons