WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0A Pentagon policy limiting journalists\u2019 access to the building is depriving Americans of vital information about U.S. military operations while the country is at war, a New York Times attorney argued Friday in urging a judge to block the new rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s more important than ever for the public to know as much as they can,\u201d Times attorney Theodore Boutrous told U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman during the first hearing for the newspaper\u2019s lawsuit against the Defense Department.<\/p>\n
Friedman didn\u2019t immediately rule on whether to order the Pentagon to reinstate media credentials for reporters who walked out of the building in October rather than agree to the new rules. But the judge\u2019s remarks suggested he was skeptical of key arguments in the government\u2019s defense of the policy.<\/p>\n
Judge cites need for \u2018a variety of views\u2019<\/p>\n
Friedman, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Clinton, suggested it is \u201cmore important than ever\u201d for Americans to hear \u201ca variety of views\u201d about the activities of the federal government and its elected leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of things need to be held tightly and secure, but openness and transparency allows members of the public to know what their government is doing,\u201d the judge said.<\/p>\n
Justice Department attorney Michael Bruns said the credentialing policy reflects the government\u2019s \u201ccompelling interest\u201d and its \u201cstatutory obligation\u201d to protect national security information.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not a trivial exercise,\u201d Bruns argued.<\/p>\n
Friedman said he intends to issue \u201cas prompt a decision as I can, because I know it\u2019s important for lots of reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Times sued the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in December, claiming the credentialing policy violates the journalists\u2019 constitutional rights to free speech and due process.<\/p>\n
Times spokesperson Charles Stadtlander said the U.S. attacks on Iran \u2014 and the resulting deaths of American troops \u2014 \u201cilluminate the public\u2019s right to access deep, impartial reporting on the details of the military actions happening as we speak.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToday was an important opportunity for The New York Times\u2019s lawyers to make our case for the clear importance and public service of allowing journalists to report fully on the Pentagon,\u201d Stadtlander said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The current Pentagon press corps comprises mostly conservative outlets that agreed to the policy. Reporters from outlets that refused to consent to the new rules, including those from the Associated Press, have continued reporting on the military from outside the building.<\/p>\n
The AP, meanwhile, is awaiting a decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court of Appeals on its separate lawsuit against President Trump\u2019s administration. The AP contends that Trump\u2019s team punished it by reducing its access to presidential events because the outlet hasn\u2019t followed the president\u2019s lead in renaming the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n
The Pentagon calls the policy \u2018common sense\u2019<\/p>\n
The Pentagon has argued that the policy imposes \u201ccommon sense\u201d rules that protect the military from the disclosure of national security information.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal of that process is to prevent those who pose a security risk from having broad access to American military headquarters,\u201d government attorneys wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n Times attorneys claim the policy is designed to silence unfavorable media coverage of Trump\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n