Pentagon Appeals Court Order Requiring Expanded Press Access

The Pentagon is appealing a federal judge’s rulings that it curtailed the First Amendment rights of journalists by limiting their access to government buildings, as well as how they obtained information. In a notice of appeal on April 10, the Justice Department targeted three separate rulings from U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman. It came the day after Friedman said that the Pentagon had issued a revised press policy that violated his prior ruling on the policy’s predecessor. The initial policy compelled media outlets to sign agreements vowing not to solicit unauthorized information from Pentagon officials at the risk of losing their press credentials. The New York Times sued, and Friedman ruled in favor of the paper on March 20....