Federal judge rules against Trump administration in New York Times case
A federal judge on Friday sided with The New York Times in its lawsuit against the Trump administration. The newspaper sued the Pentagon after it limited reporters’ access.
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Pentagon’s policy of limiting reporters’ access was illegal. The policy restricted press access to information unless it was first cleared by the Department of Defense. All but one group of the original press corps refused to sign on to the new rules, which also claim that the First Amendment does not protect the “solicitation” of nonpublic information, even if it is unclassified.
Friedman said the department failed “to provide fair notice of what routine, lawful journalistic practices will result in the denial, suspension, or revocation” of Pentagon press privileges.
“In sum, the Policy on its face makes any newsgathering and reporting not blessed by the Department a potential basis for the denial, suspension, or revocation of a journalist’s (credential),” Friedman wrote in his court opinion. “It provides no way for journalists to know how they may do their jobs without losing their credentials.”
Government attorneys had argued that the policy prevents those “who pose a security risk” from broadly accessing the nation’s military headquarters.
What was the lawsuit over?
The Department of Defense gave news groups until Oct. 14, 2025, to sign the agreement. Those who declined had to turn in their press badges.
The New York Times filed its lawsuit in December, arguing that the policy violates journalists’ constitutional rights to free speech and due process, a claim with which Friedman agreed. The suit claimed the policy threatens to punish journalists for reporting information that the government has not formally approved.
The news organizations that replaced the ones that refused to sign on to the department’s new rules have covered fewer stories critical of the Trump administration. Straight Arrow News previously reported that the press corps covered the U.S. attacks on suspected drug trafficking boats less than other, more mainstream organizations, like CNN or Fox News.
Outlets that refused to sign on to the new rules have continued reporting on the military without standard Pentagon credentials and limited building access.
It was not immediately clear how the government plans to respond to the ruling or if and how it will amend Pentagon press credential policies.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
