Federal judge finds Pentagon is violating court order to restore access
to reporters
[April 10, 2026]
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and DAVID BAUDER
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ruled that the Defense
Department is violating his earlier order to restore access to the
Pentagon for reporters, a setback in the administration's efforts to
impede the work of journalists.
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman sided with The New York Times for the
second time in a month. He had earlier said the Pentagon's new
credential policy violated journalists’ constitutional rights to free
speech and due process. On Thursday, he said Defense Secretary Pete
Hegseth's team had tried to evade his March 20 ruling by putting in new
rules that expel all reporters from the building unless guided by
escorts.
“The department simply cannot reinstate an unlawful policy under the
guise of taking ‘new’ action and expect the court to look the other
way,” Friedman wrote.
Friedman had ordered Pentagon officials to reinstate the press
credentials of seven Times reporters and stressed that his decision
applies to “all regulated parties.” The Pentagon building serves as the
headquarters for U.S. military operations.
Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell said it disagrees with the
ruling and intends to appeal. Parnell said in a social media post that
the department has “at all times” complied with judge's orders,
reinstating journalists' credentials and issuing "a materially revised
policy that addressed every concern" identified by the judge.
“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,” he wrote.
Times attorney Theodore Boutrous said Thursday’s ruling “powerfully
vindicates both the Court’s authority and the First Amendment’s
protections of independent journalism.”
A dispute brewing since October
In October, reporters from mainstream news outlets walked out of the
building rather than agree to the new rules. The Times sued the Pentagon
and Hegseth in December to challenge the policy.
President Donald Trump has fought against the press on several levels
since returning to his second term, suing The Times and Wall Street
Journal, and cutting funding for public radio and television because he
did not like their coverage. At the same time, he frequently talks to
the media and responds to reporters who call him on his cell phone.
In a series of briefings on the Iran War, Hegseth has frequently ignored
or insulted legacy media reporters let in to cover the events, while
concentrating on questions from friendly conservative media.
Times attorneys accused the Pentagon of violating the judge’s March 20
order, “both in letter and spirit” with its revised policy. The
newspaper said that Pentagon was also trying to impose unprecedented
rules dictating when reporters can offer anonymity to sources.
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The Pentagon is seen from an airplane, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in
Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Friedman said that the access the Pentagon made available to permit
holders “is not even close to as meaningful as the broad access”
they previously had.
Government lawyers said the Pentagon’s revised policy fully complies
with the judge’s directives. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell has
said the administration would appeal Friedman’s March 20 decision.
The Pentagon Press Association, which includes Associated Press
reporters, said the Pentagon’s interim policy preserves provisions
that Friedman deemed to be unconstitutional while also adding new
restrictions on credential holders.
“In effect," Justice Department attorneys wrote, “Plaintiffs ask
this Court to expand the Order to prohibit the Department from ever
addressing the security of the Pentagon through a press
credentialing policy with conditions that may address similar topics
or concerns as the enjoined conditions. The Order does not say that,
and this Court should not read it to say that.”
Current Pentagon press corps agreed to policy
The current Pentagon press corps is comprised mostly of conservative
outlets that agreed to the policy. Journalists from outlets that
refused to consent to the new rules, including from the AP, have
continued reporting on the military from outside the Pentagon.
Friedman, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President
Bill Clinton, said recent U.S. military operations in Venezuela and
Iran underscore the need for public access to information about
government activities.
“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. That principle has preserved the nation’s security for
almost 250 years. It must not be abandoned now,” the judge wrote
last month.
Friedman said the challenged policy is clearly designed to weed out
“disfavored journalists” and replace them with those who are “on
board and willing to serve” the administration.
“That," he wrote, “is viewpoint discrimination, full stop.”
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