Judge Paul Friedman Slams Pentagon Over Restrictive Press Access; Hegseth Criticized for Overreach

Judge Rebukes #Hegseth, Says #Pentagon Violated #CourtOrder A Washington federal judge found the Pentagon violated a court order by reinstating restrictions on #press #access in an opinion that sharply criticized #Defense Sec Pete Hegseth for curtailing #FreeSpeech rights with the nation at #war. #law #Constitution #FirstAmendment #FreePress #journalism #FourthEstate #Trump #dictatorship #fascism #propaganda https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/pentagons-revised-press-policy-violates-court-order-judge-says

That earlier policy gave #Pentagon ofcls discretion to revoke press credentials if they determined the reporter posed “security or safety risk,” including by soliciting unauthorized #information. The NYT & other outlets, including Bloomberg, refused to sign the policy & had to hand in their #press credentials. Friedman’s ruling comes amid concerns that the admin may [has already] violate[d] court orders #Trump disagrees with. #law #Constitution #FirstAmendment #FreeSpeech #journalism

“The Court need not embrace such a narrow interpretation of its authority & permit such a blatant attempt to circumvent a lawful order of the Court to succeed,” he wrote. The new version of the #press policy was issued 3 days after Friedman ruled that the Pentagon’s earlier #media policy violated the #FirstAmendment right to #FreeSpeech. #law #Constitution #FreePress #journalism #FourthEstate #access #Trump #Hegseth #dictatorship #fascism #propaganda

The judge reasoned that the Pentagon’s renewed #press policy amounts to a “clarification” of restrictions he already found were #unconstitutional. And he was unpersuaded by the admin’s argument that the NYT needs to “start over while the Court stands idly by,” so long as the reinstated policy “does not reinstate the exact words” of the one he struck down. #law #Constitution #FirstAmendment #FreePress #FreeSpeech #journalism #FourthEstate #Trump #Hegseth #dictatorship #fascism #propaganda

Pentagon defends Hegseth’s use of ‘Pulp Fiction prayer’ Katie Porter: ‘I had no knowledge’ of sexual assault allegations against Swalwell 06:48 ICE arrests 85-year-old French widow… #UnitedStates #US #USA #Død #pentagon #petehegseth #SecretaryofDefense https://www.europesays.com/2928148/

“The Court cannot conclude this Opinion without noting once again what this case is really about: the attempt by the Secretary of #Defense to #dictate the #information received by the American people, to control the message so that the public hears & sees only what the Secretary & the #Trump Administration want them to hear & see,” Friedman appointee wrote. #law #Constitution #FirstAmendment #FreePress #FreeSpeech #press #journalism #FourthEstate #Hegseth #dictatorship #fascism #propaganda

Senior Judge Paul Friedman of the US District Court for the DC said Thursday that the #Trump admin’s decision to remove credentialed #reporters from the #Pentagon in response to his ruling striking down a prior #press policy “flouts the Court’s explicit directives & disregards the constitutional principles at the heart” of his March order. #Hegseth #law #Constitution #FirstAmendment #FreePress #FreeSpeech #journalism #FourthEstate

#Reporters have previously been allowed to #access parts of the #Pentagon without escorts, & had offices in the building. A #DOJ attorney argued at a March court hearing that the administration “fully complied” with the judge’s order, & that if the NYT wanted to challenge the latest policy, it needed to update its lawsuit. #law #Constitution #FirstAmendment #FreePress #FreeSpeech #press #journalism #FourthEstate #Trump #Hegseth #dictatorship #fascism #propaganda