Overview
- The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., names the Defense Department, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and chief spokesman Sean Parnell, and seeks an injunction and a declaration that the policy is unconstitutional under the First and Fifth Amendments.
- The Pentagon’s rules require reporters to acknowledge limits on newsgathering, including a disputed solicitation clause and provisions that allow officials to deem journalists security risks and revoke badges for seeking or publishing unapproved information, even if unclassified or obtained offsite.
- At least 30 major outlets refused to sign and surrendered their credentials, after which the Pentagon seated a new press corps of pro‑Trump influencers and conservative outlets that attended an on‑camera briefing on Dec. 3 from Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson.
- Press‑freedom advocates, including the Pentagon Press Association and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, publicly backed the Times’ challenge, with additional newsrooms expected to support the case.
- Pentagon officials defend the policy as a national security measure to prevent harmful leaks, while the Times cites precedent such as Sherrill v. Knight and Karem v. Trump to argue the rules grant unchecked, viewpoint‑based discretion over credentials.