More than a week after the final rules were issued, dozens of legacy news organizations, including NYT, NPR, The Post, ABC, NBC, CNN, and Reuters, unanimously rejected it|Haxorjoe|CC BY-SA 3.0
The New York Times sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon on Thursday over a new media-access policy that the newspaper argues violates its journalists’ First Amendment and due-process rights.
In October, the Pentagon asked members of its press corps to sign a 21-page agreement that restricts them from collecting information from their sources in the Defense Department unless it is formally approved for release.
More than a week after the final rules were issued, dozens of legacy news organizations, including the NYT, NPR, The Post, ABC, NBC, CNN, and Reuters, unanimously rejected it. Journalists surrendered their credentials and walked out.
The Times argues that the policy forces the press to rely solely on the Pentagon’s official narratives. It says Hegseth has spent months reshaping press access, restricting reporters’ movement inside the building, and shifting prime space to conservative, Trump-friendly media houses.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has welcomed a new press corps consisting of far-right political activist Laura Loomer, Gateway Pundit, and LindellTV, among others.