WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has flouted a court order blocking it from enforcing a policy limiting news reporters’ access to the Defense Department’s
FILE - The Pentagon and the surrounding area is seen in this aerial view in Washington, Jan. 26, 2020. WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has flouted a court order blocking it from enforcing a policy limiting news reporters’ access to the Defense Department’s headquarters, a New York Times attorney asserted Monday in urging a federal judge to compel the government’s compliance with the 10-day-old order.
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman didn’t immediately rule from the bench after hearing a second round of arguments from lawyers for the newspaper and the Trump administration. The Times claims Pentagon officials have implemented a revised press policy that circumvents the judge’s March 20 ruling. Friedman sided with The Times earlier this month in deciding that the Pentagon’s new credential policy violated journalists’ constitutional rights to free speech and due process. HeTimes attorney Theodore Boutrous said the Pentagon responded to Friedman’s order by imposing a new, revised policy that imposes “radical new restrictions” on journalists.Government attorney Sarah Welch said the Defense Department’s revised policy on media access to the Pentagon includes several “safe harbors” protecting reporters engaging in routine forms of newsgathering. “The department has fully complied in good faith with that order,” Welch told the judge.Sunday, Times national security reporter Julian Barnes said Pentagon staff also explained to him and his colleagues last week that their new credentials would give them access a new press area located in the Pentagon library. But the only way for the reporters to access the library is through a corridor or on a shuttle bus that they didn’t have permission to use, Barnes noted — prompting a pointed response from Friedman.In October, reporters from mainstream news outlets walked out of the building rather than agree to the new rules. The Times sued the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in December to challenge the policy. Times attorneys accused the Pentagon of violating the judge’s March 20 order, “both in letter and spirit,” by issuing a revised “interim” policy that bars credentialed reporters from entering the building without an escort. Plaintiffs’ lawyers say the latest policy also imposes unprecedented rules dictating when reporters can offer anonymity to sources.“In effect, Plaintiffs ask this Court to expand the Order to prohibit the Department from ever addressing the security of the Pentagon through a press credentialing policy with conditions that may address similar topics or concerns as the enjoined conditions. The Order does not say that, and this Court should not read it to say that,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell has said the administration would appeal Friedman’s March 20 decision. The Pentagon Press Association, which includes Associated Press reporters, said the Pentagon’s interim policy preserves provisions that Friedman deemed to be unconstitutional while also adding new restrictions on credential holders. “The Interim Policy moves reporters’ workspace to an annex facility outside the Pentagon and prohibits any reporter from moving within the Pentagon itself without an escort, further limiting their ability to actually do journalism in the forum designated specifically for that purpose,” The current Pentagon press corps is comprised mostly of conservative outlets that agreed to the policy. Journalists from outlets that refused to consent to the new rules, including from the AP, have continued reporting on the military. Friedman, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Bill Clinton, said in his order that recent U.S. military operations in Venezuela and Iran highlight the need for public access to information about government activities.WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has flouted a court order blocking it from enforcing a policy limiting news reporters’ access to the Defense Department’s headquarters, a New York Times attorney asserted Monday in urging a federal judge to compel the government’s compliance with the 10-day-old order. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman didn’t immediately rule from TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida hospital has dropped its lawsuit seeking to evict a patient who refused to vacate a room for months after she was discharged because, the hospital said, she finally left. Tallahassee Memorial Hospital filed the lawsuit this month requesting an injunction to force the woman to leave room 373 and Swiss food giant Nestlé says about 12 tons, or 413,793 candy bars, of its KitKat chocolate brand were stolen after leaving its production site in Italy.COLUMBIA, S.C. — Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina congressman and governor whose political ascendency was stalled by a 2009 affair, wants to return to Congress — again. Just hours ahead of the deadline to do so, Sanford filed candidacy paperwork with state officials to run in the June 9 GOP primary for South WASHINGTON — The United States has formally reopened its embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, after the restoration of full diplomatic relations with the South American country following the Trump administration’s ouster of then-President Nicolas Maduro in early January. The State Department announced Monday that it had resumed normal operations at the embassy in Caracas — After weeks of chaos in U.S. airports, the Transportation Safety Administration said the first paychecks in weeks are being sent as early as Monday to its workers, giving the beleaguered aviation system a boost of optimism. Wait times at some TSA security bottlenecks, such as the airport checkpoints in Atlanta and Houston, improved significantly Monday WSECU Community Champion: Chrystal Ortega’s mission to feed Spokane Chrystal Ortega's tireless dedication recently earned her the WSECU Community Champions Award and a $1,000 grant to further the mission.When Shawn Tibbitts opened Tibbitts FernHill, he was just trying to survive. The small Tacoma restaurant has since earned culinary awards and praise.Wilcox Family Farms is continuing its cherished holiday tradition of giving back by donating nearly one million eggs to food banks across the South Sound region this season.Matthew Ballantyne has transformed that early awareness into action, embodying the organization's mission:"No Kid Sleeps On The Floor In Our Town."
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