Federal Judge Orders Pentagon to Restore Press Access After Violating Earlier Ruling

U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman has ruled that the Defense Department violated his March court order by re‑imposing sweeping restrictions on Pentagon reporters, and he has blocked the department’s revised press policy that expelled journalists from the building unless escorted and stripped outlets of office space. The case, brought by the New York Times and reporter Julian Barnes, challenges Trump‑era rules that treated Pentagon access as a 'privilege' and threatened to bar reporters who 'solicit' classified or sensitive information from military personnel, measures Friedman previously struck down as unconstitutional under the First and Fifth Amendments and due process. In his new order, Friedman said the Pentagon cannot revive an unlawful policy “under the guise of taking ‘new’ action,” ordered a senior official with personal knowledge to submit a sworn declaration by April 16 detailing compliance steps, and left in place only narrower escort rules for sensitive areas. He framed the dispute as an attempt by the Secretary of Defense and the Trump administration to “dictate the information received by the American people” and “control the message,” noting the court has received dozens of letters from citizens about what the First Amendment means to them. Media‑freedom advocates online are seizing on the ruling as a landmark rebuke of efforts to intimidate national‑security reporters and a fresh test of how far an administration can go in locking down day‑to‑day access to the nerve center of U.S. defense policy.