New York Times Files Lawsuit Pentagon Again Over New Press Access Rules

(MENAFN) The New York Times has filed a second lawsuit against the US Department of Defense, challenging new restrictions on press access at the Pentagon introduced under the Trump administration.

The legal complaint, filed by the newspaper and reporter Julian Barnes, names the Defense Department along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, spokesperson Sean Parnell, and senior official Timothy Parlatore as defendants.

According to the lawsuit, the revised policy requiring journalists to be escorted at all times inside the Pentagon represents “blatant retaliation” against the newspaper, both for its reporting stance and for previously pursuing legal action over access restrictions.

The filing argues that the interim rules are “patently retaliatory, utterly unreasonable, and manifestly arbitrary and capricious,” alleging they were designed to circumvent an earlier court ruling and penalize the outlet for defending its constitutional rights.

The dispute follows a prior federal court decision in March, in which Judge Paul Friedman ruled that earlier Pentagon restrictions violated First Amendment protections.

The new policy, according to the lawsuit, departs from long-standing Defense Department practice that previously allowed journalists unescorted access in non-secure areas, enabling them to move between offices and seek information directly from officials as news developed.

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