Judge Refuses to Block Pentagon From Firing Stars and Stripes Staffers over CBS Interview
McFadden said the journalists are unlikely to win on First Amendment claims after the Pentagon fired the publisher, editor-in-chief and a reporter last month.
- On Friday, District Judge Trevor McFadden allowed the Pentagon to proceed with terminating three Stars and Stripes staff members, rejecting their request to block the firings while their lawsuit proceeds.
- Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and Middle East reporter Lara Korte sued last week, alleging they were punished for reporting on deteriorating conditions aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln and objecting to military censorship.
- McFadden concluded Slavin and Korte gave interviews as public employees rather than private citizens, writing that while the journalists argue their termination will "chill the protected expression of themselves and others at Stripes," the First Amendment is not clearly offended.
- The lawsuit names the Defense Department and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as defendants, while Lederer was dismissed shortly after announcing his retirement and discovering the Pentagon installed an active-duty service member as deputy publisher.
- McFadden, who also presides over The Associated Press lawsuit regarding presidential event access, previously affirmed on First Amendment grounds that the government cannot punish news organizations for content, though his ruling here differed.
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Pentagon Can Move to Fire Stars and Stripes Staffers Over CBS Interview, Judge Rules
Internewscast Internewscast WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Friday declined to stop the Pentagon… This Post: Pentagon Can Move to Fire Stars and Stripes Staffers Over CBS Interview, Judge Rules first appeared on Internewscast
Associated Press News
Judge refuses to block Pentagon from firing Stars and Stripes staffers over CBS interview
A federal judge has refused block the Pentagon from firing three Stars and Stripes staff members who claim they were illegally disciplined for speaking out about the military news outlet’s need to maintain its editorial independence.
Judge lets Pentagon move forward with firing Stars and Stripes journalists
The Pentagon accused two of the Stars and Stripes journalists of insubordination after one of them had told "CBS Sunday Morning" in a July interview that she worked for Stars and Stripes, "not for the Pentagon, not for any administration, not for any policymaker."
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