(AFP) – The New York Times and Trump administration clashed in a federal court on Monday over restrictions imposed by the Pentagon on journalists covering the Defense Department. Judge Paul Friedman, in response to a lawsuit filed by the newspaper, ruled this month that new Pentagon policies regarding media access were unconstitutional and Times reporters should have their credentials restored.
The Trump administration has said it will appeal the ruling and the Defense Department responded with even tighter rules, closing a press area in the Pentagon called Correspondents’ Corridor and moving reporters to an annex in a separate building. In addition, under the new policy, “all journalist access to the Pentagon will require escort by authorized Department personnel.”
Theodore Boutrous, a Times lawyer, accused the administration at a hearing before Friedman in a Washington court on Monday of “gaslighting” and “bad faith.” “We’ve seen this movie before,” Boutrous said. “They made the press credentials that we fought so hard to get back meaningless.”
Julian Barnes, a Times reporter, in a sworn declaration, noted that reporters were unable to access the new press facility on foot and were also not allowed to use a Pentagon shuttle bus. “How weird is that?” Friedman responded. “Is it Catch 22? Is it Kafka?” Barnes said Pentagon press accreditation pass holders were ultimately told they would be given permission to ride on the shuttle bus.
The judge, after hearing arguments from the Times and Sarah Welch, a lawyer representing the Justice Department, did not issue an immediate ruling. US media and a host of other news outlets including AFP declined to sign the new access policy in mid-October, resulting in the loss of their Pentagon credentials. The restrictions were the latest in a series of measures by President Donald Trump and top officials against journalists and outlets that are often derided as “fake news” when their reporting displeases the administration.
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