Pentagon Defends Restrictions on Media Outlets

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Pentagon Defends Restrictions on Media Outlets

The purpose of the new rules is to “stop activity that could compromise national security,” the Defense Department said in response to a New York Times lawsuit.


The Pentagon imposed restrictions on media organizations in October, calling them a reasonable initiative to balance national security with media access. Kenny Holston/The New York Times

By Erik Wemple
Reporting from Washington
Jan. 31, 2026

In a court filing late Friday, the Pentagon defended the restrictions it imposed on media organizations in October, calling them a reasonable initiative to balance national security with media access. The filing came in response to a lawsuit filed in December by The New York Times.

The purpose of the policy “is to secure the Pentagon and stop activity that could compromise national security,” the filing said, adding that the policy outlined “explicit and clear standards for conduct” at the Pentagon.

The rules require reporters to sign a 21-page form that sets restrictions on journalistic activities, including requests for story tips and inquiries to Pentagon sources. Reporters who don’t comply can lose their press passes. The restrictions replaced a far more streamlined set of rules.

In its complaint, The Times argued that the Pentagon policy violated the First Amendment rights of journalists, curbing their ability to “do what journalists have always done — ask questions of government employees and gather information to report stories that take the public beyond official pronouncements.” The newspaper also contended that the restrictions violated journalists’ Fifth Amendment rights to due process, because they granted the department “unfettered” discretion to revoke journalists’ press passes — even when they’re engaged in lawful news gathering activities.

{snip}

[jls4561]

1. Fat Donnie and his stable of incompetent syncophants define national security as anything that might expose their

corruption, stupidity or vindictive evil.