(Washington) A US federal judge on Friday blocked the Pentagon’s new policy limiting press access, which resulted in the withdrawal of accreditations from most major media outlets.
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Seized by the New York Times in December, a judge concluded that much of this new accreditations policy “violates” several amendments to the American Constitution, notably the First, guaranteeing freedom of expression.
The Defense Ministry did not immediately respond but is expected to appeal the decision.
In a document, almost unanimously rejected in October by the American and international press, including AFP, the Ministry of Defense asked accredited journalists to no longer solicit or publish certain information without explicit authorization from it, at the risk of losing their accreditation.
“Those who drafted the First Amendment believed that the security of a nation requires a free press and an informed people and that this security was jeopardized by government suppression of political speech,” the judge wrote in his decision.
“This principle has preserved the security of the nation for almost 250 years. It must not be abandoned now,” he adds.
“The court is aware that national security must be protected, as well as the security of our troops and war plans,” explains the magistrate.
“But particularly in light of the recent incursion into Venezuela (in January) and the ongoing war in Iran, it is more important than ever that people have access to information from diverse perspectives to know what their government is doing,” he emphasizes.
“So that the population can support the government’s policies if they want to, demonstrate against if they want to demonstrate, and decide on the basis of complete and open information who they will vote for in the next election,” continues the judge.
He orders the Pentagon to immediately hand over seven journalists from New York Times the accreditation they enjoyed before the implementation of this policy in October.
These new measures are part of a broader offensive, carried out since Donald Trump’s return to power, restricting journalists’ access to the Pentagon – the country’s largest employer with an annual budget of several hundred billion dollars.
In the preceding months, the Department of Defense—recently renamed the Department of War by the Trump administration—dislodged eight media outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post and CNN, from their dedicated Pentagon offices.
The department also restricted the movement of journalists inside the Pentagon building, requiring them to be escorted out of a limited number of areas.
