Court Voids Latest Pentagon Press Restrictions

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.”

Friedman’s ruling is the second time he has thrown out Hegseth’s bid to sharply curtail reporters’ access to the Pentagon. The judge tossed an earlier version of the press restrictions that threatened to strip credentials from journalists unless they agreed to publish only information preapproved by Department of Defense channels.

After Friedman ruled that policy was unconstitutional last month, Hegseth issued a new one that reimplemented sharp restrictions on reporters’ ability to pursue information from Pentagon sources without authorization from department leadership. The revised policy also evicted the press corps from the main Pentagon building and the longstanding Correspondents' Corridor, instead relegating reporters to an annex that has yet to be opened and, in the interim, to a library on the periphery of the complex.

Friedman, a Clinton appointee, voided the key parts of the revised policy, concluding that it was simply a repackaging of the old one. “The Department cannot simply reinstate an unlawful policy under the guise of taking ‘new’ action and expect the Court to look the other way,” the judge wrote.

A Pentagon spokesperson said the administration disagrees with the judge’s ruling and plans to appeal.

“The Department has at all times complied with the Court's Order,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on X. “The Department remains committed to press access at the Pentagon while fulfilling its statutory obligation to ensure the safe and secure operation of the Pentagon Reservation.”

A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.