WASHINGTON, United States: A US federal judge on Friday ruled as unconstitutional a Pentagon press access policy that withdrew accreditations from a host of prominent media organizations. Elements of the policy are “unlawful because they violate the First and Fifth Amendments of the United States Constitution,” a judge in Washington said in response to a lawsuit brought by The New York Times. US media and a host of international news outlets including AFP, AP and Fox News declined to sign the new policy in mid-October, resulting in the stripping of their Pentagon credentials.

President Donald Trump’s administration has said the policy is reasonable and necessary to protect the military.

A federal judge blocked the Department of Defense press access policy in a lawsuit by the New York Times.