From CBS News: A federal judge has struck down some of the Defense Department’s strict controls on how journalists with access to the Pentagon are allowed to report — ending a policy that caused many news outlets to leave the Pentagon.
U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman sided with the New York Times and a reporter at the newspaper, Julian E. Barnes, who sued in December, arguing the new Pentagon policy violated the First Amendment, Fifth Amendment and due process provision of the Constitution.
The Pentagon rolled out its new press access policy last fall, requiring credentialed reporters to sign onto a host of restrictions in order to maintain daily access to the building.
Many media organizations — including CBS News, ABC News, NBC News, CNN and Fox News — declined to sign the new rules and stopped working out of the Pentagon on a day-to-day basis. The Pentagon’s in-house press corps is now mostly made up of conservative media outlets that agreed to sign.
The Pentagon Press Association and reporters who cover the military say the policy may restrict journalists’ access to legitimate sources.
Friedman’s ruling partially lifted restrictions on news outlets, particularly those concerning the solicitation of classified information and the characterization of Pentagon access. Reporters are no longer deemed security risks for soliciting classified information, and Pentagon access is recognized as a right rather than a privilege.
But restrictions on reporters’ movement within the Pentagon without an escort remain in effect.
The Pentagon Press Association told CBS News that it “celebrates the decision by a federal judge today that the Pentagon’s press credentialling policy violated the U.S. Constitution.”
The group called for the “immediate reinstatement of the credentials of all PPA members.”
Friedman has ordered the Pentagon to reinstate Barnes and several other Times reporters’ press passes.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell responded to the ruling on X, saying, “We disagree with the decision and are pursuing an immediate appeal.”
The Pentagon claims it’s not forcing reporters to clear stories, but protecting national security by preventing sensitive information leaks.
The judge said he “recognizes that national security must be protected, the security of our troops must be protected, and war plans must be protected.”
“But especially in light of the country’s recent incursion into Venezuela and its ongoing war with Iran, it is more important than ever that the public have access to information from a variety of perspectives about what its government is doing—so that the public can support government policies, if it wants to support them; protest, if it wants to protest; and decide based on full, complete, and open information who they are going to vote for in the next election,” he said.
Friedman said the restrictions on “soliciting” information were too vague making the rules unclear, so “one could easily predict that journalists would opt not to ask any questions rather than risk losing their [credential].”
He also said the policy violates the First Amendment as it allows for viewpoint discrimination that can halt critical speech and “weed out disfavored journalists.”
NEW: US District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman has blocked the Pentagon policy restricting journalists’ access.
In granting an injunction sought by the @nytimes, Friedman wrote:
“A primary purpose of the First Amendment is to enable the press to publish what it will & the public…
— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) March 20, 2026
Read more at CBS News
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