A federal judge ruled on April 9 that the Pentagon’s policy of excluding unescorted media from its buildings violated his previous court order.
The New York Times had sued the Department of War after it gave reporters an ultimatum last year: Sign an agreement not to solicit unauthorized information from Pentagon employees or give up their press credentials.
On March 20, Friedman ruled in favor of the newspaper and declared the government’s policy unconstitutional.
Following the ruling, the Pentagon instituted a new policy. It restored press credentials to some reporters but banned all journalists from entering the Pentagon without an escort while it appealed Friedman’s ruling.
The government argued that the interim policy didn’t violate the judge’s previous order, but The New York Times sued again, alleging the Pentagon had simply crafted a workaround to the judge’s ruling.
This story will be updated with additional details.Â
