A federal judge ruled Thursday that the Pentagon must restore access for credentialed journalists, finding the department has defied a prior court order. US District Judge Paul Friedman said the Defense Department must comply with his March 20 decision and reinstate reporters’ entry to the Pentagon.
The dispute began with an October 2025 policy issued under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that allowed the department to revoke press badges for journalists it deemed security risks if they solicited unauthorized military personnel to disclose classified — and in some cases unclassified — information. Only one of the Pentagon Press Association’s 56 member outlets signed an acknowledgment of that policy; the other 55 surrendered their passes and covered the department from outside the building. The New York Times led a lawsuit challenging the restrictions.
On March 20, Judge Friedman ruled for the journalists, concluding the policy infringed on news-gathering protections and violated due process. He ordered immediate restoration of access. After that ruling, the Pentagon issued an “interim” policy that required reporters with press passes to enter only with escorts, imposed new rules on promising anonymity to sources, and retained several other limitations the court had already rejected. The department told the court it had corrected the legal defects identified by Friedman, and Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said credentials had been reinstated and that the department planned to appeal the March 20 ruling.
Friedman rejected the department’s interim changes, saying the restored access is “not even close to as meaningful as the broad access” reporters previously enjoyed. He wrote that the Defense Department “cannot simply reinstate an unlawful policy under the guise of taking ‘new’ action and expect the Court to look the other way,” calling the steps a “blatant attempt to circumvent a lawful order of the Court.” The judge also noted that ongoing U.S. military operations in locations such as Venezuela and Iran make public access to information about government activities especially important.
The ruling requires the Pentagon to return reporters’ meaningful access as ordered by the court while the legal challenge continues. Edited by: Sean Sinico