The New York Times is once again suing the Pentagon over its press rules, this time challenging a policy implemented in March that requires reporters to be escorted by Defense Department officials. In a lawsuit filed Monday, The New York Times argues the rules are "patently retaliatory, utterly unreasonable, and manifestly arbitrary and capricious."
The lawsuit is the latest development in the fight over press access at the Pentagon during the second Trump administration. Last fall, the Defense Department asked members of the press corps to agree to a new policy or "lose access to press credentials and Pentagon workspaces," reported Reuters. Among other restrictions limiting unescorted access within the Pentagon, the policy stated that reporters "who solicit or encourage personnel to disclose the information without authorization may be deemed a safety risk" could lose their credentials, Axios reported at the time. Dozens of outlets, including Fox News and Newsmax, refused to sign a statement acknowledging the rules.
