The New York Times sues the Pentagon a second time over Hegseth’s media restrictions
The New York Times has filed a second lawsuit against the Pentagon, challenging a media escort policy that it claims violates the First Amendment. The policy requires journalists to be accompanied by escorts while on Pentagon grounds, which the Times argues restricts independent reporting. The Pentagon maintains that the policy is lawful and necessary for national security.
- ▪The New York Times sued the Defense Department for the second time in five months over media restrictions.
- ▪The escort policy requires journalists to be accompanied at all times while in the Pentagon.
- ▪The Times argues that this policy is unconstitutional and aims to limit independent reporting.
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The New York Times sued the Defense Department on Monday (May 18, 2026) for the second time in five months, arguing that a requirement that journalists be escorted while on Pentagon grounds violates the First Amendment.The escort policy is “an unconstitutional attempt by the Pentagon to prevent independent reporting on military affairs,” a Times spokesman, Charlie Stadtlander, said in an email to The Associated Press.“As we have said before: Americans deserve visibility into how their government is being run, and the actions the military is taking in their name and with their tax dollars,” he said.On X, Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell called the Times’ latest lawsuit “nothing more than an attempt to remove the barriers to them getting their hands on classified…
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