New York Times Accuses Pentagon of Defying Court Order

Legal challenge over revised Pentagon media rules

The New York Times accused the Defense Department on Tuesday of defying a federal court ruling that had declared major parts of the department’s press rules unconstitutional.

In a legal filing, the company said the Pentagon sought to make an “end run” around that ruling when it issued revised media rules on Monday. The filing argued that the updated policy amounted to retaliation after the department received an adverse ruling from a federal judge last week.

The dispute centers on whether the Pentagon’s new restrictions comply with the court’s decision or attempt to preserve limits on journalists’ access and reporting despite that ruling.

Times says policy flouts court decision

According to the filing, the revised policy was “nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to flout this court’s ruling and prevent journalists and news organizations whose editorial viewpoints defendants dislike from engaging in independent, protected news gathering and reporting at the Pentagon.”

The accusation followed the Pentagon’s release of the revised rules on Monday, just days after the federal judge found major portions of the department’s earlier press rules unconstitutional.

The filing frames the new policy as an effort to continue restricting journalistic activity at the Pentagon in spite of the court’s order.