Judge determines Pentagon restrictions on media are unconstitutional

A federal judge ruled Friday that the Pentagon’s recent changes to its press corps guidelines, which included banning reporters from soliciting tips for stories and requiring reporters to sign a pledge to protect sensitive information, were unconstitutional.The Pentagon issued the new guidelines last year, which prompted outrage from multiple major media outlets, including the Washington Post, the New York Times, and even conservative outlets like the Washington Examiner and the Washington Times.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman dismissed portions of the Pentagon’s guidelines and ordered the Pentagon to restore the press passes of seven journalists for the New York Times, which brought the lawsuit challenging the guidelines.
The judge ruled that some of the guidelines, such as one that restricted where reporters are allowed to go inside the Pentagon without an escort, could remain, but the portion that barred reporters from “soliciting” classified or sensitive information from military personnel was dismissed. 
Friedman wrote that while he recognizes the importance of protecting national security, war plans and U.S. troops, recent Trump administration actions make it critical that Americans have access to “information from a variety of perspectives,” per CBS News.
“In light of the country’s recent incursion into Venezuela and its ongoing war with Iran, it is more important than ever that the public have access to information from a variety of perspectives about what its government is doing,” he wrote. “So the public can support government policies, if it wants to support them; protest, if it wants to protest; and decide based on full, complete, and open information who they are going to vote for in the next election.”
He also ruled that the guidelines violate the First Amendment by engaging in viewpoint discrimination, because it seeks to silence critical speech and “weed out disfavored journalists.”
The Pentagon has not commented on the ruling. 
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage. 

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