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Updated on: September 4, 2026 / 6:27 PM EDT
/ CBS News
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A federal judge on Friday allowed the Pentagon to move forward with terminating three employees of the Stars and Stripes military newspaper. In a 24-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden turned down a request by the newspaper's publisher, editor-in-chief and Middle East reporter to halt their firings while a lawsuit challenging the terminations works its way through the court system. McFadden found the government likely did not violate their First Amendment rights by firing them last month.The plaintiffs — publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin and reporter Lara Korte — were given separation notices in August and placed on administrative leave over allegations of insubordination. The move raised questions about the future of the Stars and Stripes, which is operated by the military and is partially funded by taxpayers, but has traditionally operated independently of military leadership or the White House.For Slavin and Korte, the alleged insubordination cited in their termination notices was related to interviews they gave to CBS News for a piece on "CBS Sunday Morning" that aired in July. In the story, Korte said that she worked for Stars and Stripes, "not for the Pentagon, not for any administration, not for any policymaker."The firings took place shortly after the newspaper published a piece detailing flagging mental health concerns and food and water shortages aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which had been deployed for nine months. A day after that story ran, the lawsuit said, Pentagon officials ordered Lederer, the Stripes' publisher, to issue notices of separation to Slavin and Korte. Lederer declined to present them and opted to resign, but he was fired before he could do so.
