The New York Times is suing the Department of Defense over the Pentagon's new restrictions on press access. The lawsuit, set to be filed in federal court in Washington, DC, names the Defense Department, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chief Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, as defendants. The lawsuit seeks the repeal of a new policy, instituted in October, that prompted Pentagon beat reporters to turn in their press passes rather than sign onto the restrictions. "The policy is an attempt to exert control over reporting the government dislikes, in violation of a free press' right to seek information under their First and Fifth Amendment rights protected by the Constitution," Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said. "The Times intends to vigorously defend against the violation of these rights, just as we have long done throughout administrations opposed to scrutiny and accountability," he added. Attorneys for The Times seek a declaration that the new policy is unconstitutional on its face and an injunction barring its enforcement. Hegseth and his aides will likely object, using the same national security arguments that accompanied October's restrictions. News media industry leaders and other critics of the new policy said Hegseth's real intent is to impede independent coverage and scrutiny of the Trump administration. Earlier this week, Hegseth welcomed dozens of pro-Trump influencers and content creators to the Pentagon for orientation sessions and press briefings. The content creators, who all accepted the new restrictions at the core of The Times' lawsuit, have been billed by Hegseth's communication team as the "new Pentagon press corps," despite the group's general lack of military beat reporting experience. Meanwhile, the veteran journalists who handed in their press passes in October continue to report on the Pentagon from outside its five walls. Parnell has claimed that those journalists "chose to self-deport" and "they will not be missed." Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson, who did not hold a single on-camera press briefing when the beat reporters were still in the building, cheerfully held one for the "new" press corps on Tuesday. Some beat reporters, including those from The Times and CNN, asked to attend but were not allowed. The Pentagon Press Association, which represents the bulk of the beat reporters who refused to go along with the new restrictions, said it is "encouraged" by The Times' effort to "step up and defend press freedom." The Times noted that dozens of news outlets have taken a collective stand against the access restrictions, including conservative outlets like Fox News and Newsmax. While The Times is the only media outlet suing, other newsrooms are expected to file briefs in support of the case, attorneys involved in the matter said. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said Thursday that it was lending its voice in support. "The Pentagon's press access policy is unlawful because it gives government officials unchecked power over who gets a credential and who doesn't, something the First Amendment prohibits," the committee's vice president of policy, Gabe Rottman, said in a statement. "The public needs independent journalism and the reporters who deliver it back in the Pentagon at a time of heightened scrutiny of the Department's actions." — CNN
