Federal judge nukes Pentagon media escort requirement

WASHINGTON (CN) — A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Pentagon from enforcing an escort requirement for journalists to enter the building, marking the third time Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s national security claims have faltered in court.

Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman granted the New York Times request for a preliminary injunction after ruling the provision violates the First Amendment “twice over,” because it was issued in retaliation for the news outlet’s lawsuit, and because it amounts to an unreasonable and viewpoint discriminatory restriction on a nonpublic forum.

“This court has spoken at several points about the critical importance of protecting the freedoms enshrined in the First Amendment, and that evergreen message bears repeating: ‘Those who drafted the First Amendment believed that the nation’s security requires a free press and an informed people and that such security is endangered by governmental suppression of political speech,’” the Bill Clinton appointee wrote, quoting his initial ruling for the Times. “‘That principle has preserved the nation’s security for almost 250 years.’ As our country celebrates its 250th anniversary this very week, that principle must not be abandoned now.”

Tuesday’s decision is the latest chapter in the Defense Department’s effort to take complete control of the information coming out of the Pentagon, which first began with a new press policy in October 2025 that led to an exodus of veteran journalists.

Under the Pentagon’s Oct. 6 press policy, journalists could be deemed a “security risk” for disclosing classified or even unclassified information without the Pentagon’s authorization. Dozens of media outlets rejected the rules rather than sign and walked out on the Oct. 17 deadline.

Friedman blocked the original policy on March 20 and largely dismantled the interim version in an April 9 order.

The Pentagon reinstated the escort requirement after a divided D.C. Circuit panel ruled on April 27 that the provision was not properly before the court, preventing Friedman from enforcing his original injunction to lift the requirement.

The 2-1 ruling was led by U.S. Circuit Judges Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, and Bradley Garcia, a Biden appointee, who granted the government an emergency stay while the appeal proceeds. U.S. Circuit Judge Michelle Childs, also a Biden appointee, dissented.

The Times filed its second lawsuit on May 18.

In their second complaint and at a June 12 hearing, the news outlet explained how the Pentagon designated its main press office a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility with their attorney Theodore Boutrous slamming the move as an escalation, “it was Kafka-esque, now it’s Orwellian.”

According to the Pentagon, the designation was necessary because speechwriters routinely handle classified information. As a result, access to the offices of the Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs and the press secretary is limited to scheduled appointments.

Friedman highlighted declarations from New York Times reporter Julian Barnes and Associated Press reporter Robert Burns who described how significant unescorted access was to their news gathering abilities.

Burns, a veteran reporter, described how former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld invited reporters into his office on weekend mornings for “wide-ranging, off-the-record discussions” outside of any scheduled press briefings or interviews.

With the escort requirement, reporters were told they must make separate appointments and obtain escorts for each separate conversation with public affairs staff, and then are escorted out of the building after the appointment.

“In other words, there are no longer opportunities for the semiformal or informal interactions that reporters and former Department officials alike testified were critical,” Friedman wrote. “Moreover, the escort requirement, in Mr. Barnes’ estimation, leads to reporters spending ‘hours of [the] day just waiting and walking back and forth’ between the Pentagon and the off-grounds library from which they are now expected to work.”

The Pentagon has contested that narrative by asserting that no credentialed reporters has been denied an escort, but Friedman was unconvinced and noted the issue is the fact that newsgathering via spontaneous conversations is “inescapably burdened” by the escort requirement.

Charlie Stadtlander, executive director of media relations for the Times, welcomed the decision in an emailed statement.

“Today’s well-reasoned decision reaffirms the First Amendment rights of the press to cover the Pentagon without restrictions designed to prevent the public from knowing what the military is doing,” Stadtlander said. “The court recognized that the Pentagon’s hastily implemented new policy was a clear violation of the Constitution.”

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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