The New York Times Is Suing The Pentagon Over Pete Hegseth's Press Policy

The lawsuit accuses the Defense Department of violating reporters' First Amendment rights.

The New York Times on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense over the press restrictions Secretary Pete Hegseth introduced in October that prompted reporters from most major news organizations to surrender their Pentagon badges.

The lawsuit, which also names Hegseth and Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell as defendants, argues the Pentagon’s media policy is unlawful and unconstitutional. Times reporter Julian E. Barnes is also included as a plaintiff in the complaint.

“The policy — which vests Department officials with unbridled discretion to immediately suspend and ultimately revoke a reporter’s [Pentagon badge] for engaging in lawful newsgathering, both on and off Pentagon grounds, or for reporting any information Department officials have not approved — is neither reasonable nor viewpoint-neutral,” reads a copy of the complaint obtained by HuffPost.

“It is exactly the type of speech- and press-restrictive scheme that the Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit have recognized violates the First Amendment,” it adds.

The Times also took issue with a provision in the new rules that deemed standard reporting techniques, like interviewing government employees, could “constitute a solicitation that could lead to revocation” of a reporter’s badge.