New York Times sues Pentagon again over ‘utterly unreasonable’ press restrictions
Summary
The New York Times has filed a second lawsuit against the Pentagon, challenging a policy that requires journalists to have official escorts when covering the Department of Defense. The Times says this policy makes it very hard for reporters to do their jobs and goes against decades of more open press access.Key Facts
- The New York Times sued the Pentagon over new rules forcing reporters to have escorts inside Pentagon buildings.
- The lawsuit claims the policy is unconstitutional and makes reporting "utterly unreasonable."
- In the past, reporters could move freely in unsecured areas to speak with many officials quickly.
- The new rules mean reporters must arrange appointments, wait, be escorted, and repeat this for each source.
- The Pentagon has called press access a privilege it grants but has not yet commented on the new lawsuit.
- This is the second lawsuit by the Times on this issue; a previous suit led to some changes but the Pentagon introduced interim rules with escorts again.
- A federal judge ruled the escort policy broke court orders, but the Pentagon appealed and the policy remains during the appeal.
- The Times wants the court to remove the escort requirement, saying it blocks access to important news.
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