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Judge refuses to block Pentagon from firing Stars and Stripes staffers over CBS interview
McFadden said the three employees likely spoke in their official roles and denied an injunction, letting the Pentagon proceed with the dismissals.
- 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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Trump-Appointed Judge Rejects Stars and Stripes Staffers’ Bid to Block Pentagon Firings * The Gateway Pundit * by Jim Hᴏft
The court ruled that the taxpayer-funded employees likely spoke in their official capacities, not as private citizens protected by the First Amendment.
·St. Louis, United States
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Hegseth ‘stacking up the wins’: Judge declines to halt firings of Stars and Stripes staffers
A district court decision found Secretary of War Pete Hegseth “stacking up the wins” after a Washington, D.C. judge ruled in favor of a set of Pentagon-related […]
·West Palm Beach, United States
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Total News Sources97
Leaning Left11Leaning Right11Center65Last UpdatedBias Distribution75% Center
Bias Distribution
- 75% of the sources are Center
75% Center
13%
C 75%
12%
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