A federal judge ruled Thursday the Pentagon is defying a court order to restore press access, specifically to seven New York Times reporters. The newspaper sued in December after the Defense Department implemented restrictive new policies, leading to an earlier ruling that found those rules unconstitutional.
The Pentagon responded by creating a new press access policy and closing the “correspondents’ corridor,” actions the New York Times called an attempt to circumvent the judge’s decision. The judge determined the department had not complied with the March injunction requiring immediate restoration of credentials.
The judge also admonished the administration, stating suppression of political speech is characteristic of autocracies, not democracies. New rules had previously prevented reporters from entering the Pentagon without an escort.
The court gutted a set of rules adopted after the initial policy was deemed unconstitutional, compelling the Pentagon to fully implement the earlier ruling.