Pentagon press policy ruled unconstitutional in case brought by N.Y. Times
Source: Washington Post
Updated March 20, 2026 at 5:49 p.m. EDT
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., struck down the Defense Department’s controversial press policy as unconstitutional Friday, ruling in favor of the New York Times and one of its reporters, Julian E. Barnes.
U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman said in his ruling that the ongoing war with Iran made it “more important than ever that the public have access to information from a variety of perspectives about what its government is doing.”
The policy, introduced in October, stated that the Pentagon could revoke the credentials of any journalist who solicited information that the department did not explicitly authorize for release — even if that information was unclassified. The policy led to a mass exodus of journalists from dozens of news organizations who refused to sign, including the Times and The Washington Post. Only a handful of the hundreds of formerly credentialed members of the media signed the updated agreement.
A cohort from largely right-wing outlets sympathetic to President Donald Trump signed on to the new policy, including far-right activists Laura Loomer and Jack Posobiec, as well as former congressman Matt Gaetz. Representatives for the Defense Department and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/03/20/pentagon-press-policy-unconstitutional-nyt/
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Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.287334/gov.uscourts.dcd.287334.34.0_3.pdf
Article updated.
Original article -
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled on Friday that the Defense Department's controversial press policy was illegal, striking it down as unconstitutional in a lawsuit brought by the New York Times and one of its reporters, Julian E. Barnes.
The policy, introduced in October, stated that the Pentagon could revoke the credentials of any journalist who solicited information that the department did not explicitly authorize for release -- even if that information was unclassified.
U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman ruled that the policy violated the U.S. Constitution's protections of press freedom and due process under the First and Fifth Amendments.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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