March 21 (UPI) -- A federal judge struck down the Department of Defense's policy that led to the ouster of most journalists from the Pentagon last fall and replaced them with those who agreed to the department's new rules.
Judge Paul Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of The New York Times, which sued the Department of Defense over the policy. Friedman ruled that the policy is unconstitutional and ordered the department to give back the credentials of the seven Times journalists who cover the Pentagon.
Though he didn't order the restoration of other reporters' credentials, he voided the policy that they refused to sign, allowing them to get credentialed again.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on X: "We disagree with the decision and are pursuing an immediate appeal."
In October, the Defense Department required that all credentialed journalists sign the policy. Signing it gave the Pentagon the ability to label the journalists "security risks" and revoke their credentials if the department decided they had endangered national security. They had to pledge to only publish approved information.
