Judge rejects Pentagon effort to restrict press access, says it smacks of ‘autocracy’

The first time Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon tried to impose restrictions on the free press, it lost in court. When the Defense Department tried again, it failed again. Politico reported:

A federal judge has rejected Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s renewed effort to restrict press access to the Pentagon, calling it an attempt to dictate media coverage that smacks of ‘an autocracy, not a democracy.’

‘The curtailment of First Amendment rights is dangerous at any time, and even more so in time of war,’ U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman wrote Thursday. ‘The Constitution demands better. The American public demands better, too.’

The problem began in earnest last fall when Hegseth and his team, as part of a larger offensive against journalism at the Pentagon, told news organizations that reporters wouldn’t be allowed to cover the department unless they agreed only to report information, including unclassified information, authorized for release by the administration.

Outlets that refused to agree to his terms, the secretary added, would lose access and have their press badges confiscated.

Practically every major news organization refused, including MS NOW (my employer) and Fox News (Hegseth’s former employer). The result was an exodus of correspondents, all of whom refused to accept the administrative restrictions, exiting the Pentagon en masse in a display of unity.

Last month, Friedman ruled against the Pentagon’s restrictive press access policy, concluding that it violated the First Amendment and granted the government overly broad authority to control the press corps’ access. The court decision fueled some hope that conditions at the Defense Department might return to normal.

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Judge rejects Pentagon effort to restrict press access, says it smacks of ‘autocracy’