Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth’s restrictive Pentagon press policy took a big hit on Friday when a federal judge ruled that it violated the First Amendment.
The policy, announced last October, allowed the Pentagon to label journalists “security risks” and revoke their press passes if they did anything the Pentagon deemed threatening to national security.
Many news outlets declined to agree to that policy and gave up their passes. Photographs at the time showed longtime Pentagon journalists walking out of the building, carrying their personal belongings.
In their place, the Pentagon welcomed several obscure, far-right outlets and pro-Trump cheerleaders like Laura Loomer and Mike Lindell.
After hearing The New York Times’ argument against the policy, Judge Paul Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia agreed.
“The Court recognizes that national security must be protected, the security of our troops must be protected, and war plans must be protected,” Friedman wrote in the 40-page ruling. “But especially in light of the country’s recent incursion into Venezuela and its ongoing war with Iran, it is more important than ever that the public have access to information from a variety of perspectives about what its government is doing.”
“The record evidence supports the conclusion that the policy discriminates not based on political viewpoint but rather based on editorial viewpoint — that is, whether the individual or organization is willing to publish only stories that are favorable to or spoon-fed by department leadership,” he added.
The policy’s “true purpose and practical effect,” he continued, was “to weed out disfavored journalists — those who were not, in the department’s view, ‘on board and willing to serve’ — and replace them with news entities that are.”
Friedman had to remind Hegseth of the press’s fundamental rights, which had been violated. The policy also violated the Fifth Amendment, he said.
“The considerations that may or may not lead to a reporter being deemed ‘a security or safety risk’ include obtaining or attempting to obtain any information that the department has not approved for release, regardless of whether that information is classified,” he wrote. “But to state the obvious, obtaining and attempting to obtain information is what journalists do. A primary way in which journalists obtain information is by asking questions.”
In the past month, Hegseth, 45, has at times been confrontational with members of the press in response to such inquiries, notably about the ongoing war against Iran.
During a March 2 briefing, for instance, he complained about “gotcha” questions and compared the media to enemy fire.
“President Trump and I have your back—always," he said, addressing troops. “Through fire, through criticism, through fake news, through everything. We unleash you because you are the best, most powerful, most lethal fighting force the world has ever seen.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Pentagon for comment about Friday’s ruling. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on X: “We disagree with the decision and are pursuing an immediate appeal.”
A spokesman for The New York Times said the ruling “reaffirms the right of The Times and other independent media to continue to ask questions on the public’s behalf,” and that “Americans deserve visibility into how their government is being run, and the actions the military is taking in their name and with their tax dollars.”
