The U.S. Defense Department will remove media offices from the Pentagon after a federal judge sided with The New York Times in a lawsuit challenging to the building, a department official announced Monday.
An area of the Pentagon known as “Correspondents鈥� Corridor” that reporters have used for decades to cover the U.S. military will close immediately, department spokesperson Sean Parnell said. Journalists will eventually be able to work from an 鈥渁nnex鈥� outside the building, which he said 鈥渨ill be available when ready.” He offered no detail about how long that will take.
The Pentagon Press Association said the announcement 鈥渋s a clear violation of the letter and spirit of last week鈥檚 ruling.鈥�
鈥淎t such a critical time, we ask why the Pentagon is choosing to restrict vital press freedoms that help inform all Americans,鈥� the association said.
The new policy is the latest dispute over press access to President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration, which has limited legacy media while boosting conservative and pro-Trump outlets.
The Times and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in December, claiming the agency’s new credentialing policy violated journalists鈥� constitutional rights to free speech and due process. Dozens of reporters had of the building rather than agree to government-imposed .
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., last week sided with the newspaper. He ordered the Pentagon to reinstate the press credentials of seven Times journalists and struck down some of the agency’s restrictions on news reporting.
Friedman said the 鈥渦ndisputed evidence鈥� shows that the policy is designed to weed out 鈥渄isfavored journalists鈥� and replace them with those who are 鈥渙n board and willing to serve鈥� the government, a clear instance of illegal viewpoint discrimination.
Parnell said the Defense Department disagrees with the ruling and is pursuing an appeal. He said security concerns prompted restrictions on press access, a claim that journalists have rejected.
Under the latest Pentagon rules announced Monday, journalists will still have access to the Pentagon for press conferences and interviews arranged through the department鈥檚 public affairs team, but they will have to be escorted, Parnell social media.
The current Pentagon press corps is comprised mostly of conservative outlets that agreed to the policy. Reporters from outlets that refused to consent to the new rules, including from The Associated Press, have on the military.
The AP, meanwhile, is awaiting a decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court of Appeals on its against President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration. The AP contends that Trump鈥檚 White House team punished it by reducing its access to presidential events because the outlet hasn鈥檛 followed his lead in renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
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