New York Times Sues Pentagon Over Press Access Limits

(MENAFN) The New York Times has filed a second legal challenge against the US Department of Defense, contesting new limits on press access at the Pentagon introduced under the Trump administration, according to reports.

The lawsuit, filed jointly by the newspaper and reporter Julian Barnes, names the Defense Department along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, spokesperson Sean Parnell, and senior official Timothy Parlatore as defendants.

It argues that a policy requiring journalists to be escorted while inside the Pentagon represents what it describes as “blatant retaliation” against the newspaper, not only for its editorial stance but also for pursuing legal action to defend its constitutional rights.

According to the filing, “The interim policy is patently retaliatory, utterly unreasonable, and manifestly arbitrary and capricious. Defendants adopted it as a means to thwart a district court order and to punish The Times both for its editorial viewpoint and its successful suit vindicating its constitutional rights,” the lawsuit says.

The legal challenge follows earlier court proceedings in which a federal judge ruled in March that previous Pentagon restrictions on press access violated First Amendment protections under the US Constitution.

The current dispute centers on revised rules that critics say effectively maintain limits on journalists by requiring official escorts inside the Defense Department facilities, despite earlier judicial objections.

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