A federal appeals court ruled against The New York Times, allowing the Pentagon to continue enforcing a policy that requires journalists to be escorted while on its grounds.
A panel of three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit split 2 to 1 in favor of the Trump administration, halting a lower court’s preliminary decision that had previously blocked the escort requirement. The appellate judges determined that the Defense Department’s escort rules do not constitute unlawful retaliation against the publication under the First Amendment.
Two of the judges, Karen Henderson and Patricia Millett, said the Defense Department is likely to succeed on its argument that the escort requirement does not constitute unlawful retaliation under the First Amendment.
The judges said in an unsigned order that the New York Times and reporter Julian Barnes, who are challenging the rule, “have not argued that the escort requirement is not, in fact, generally applicable and applied across the board to all reporters. Nor have they argued that the policy is not being implemented evenhandedly. Neither have they contended that the policy has a distinctively adverse impact on them or their news reporting ability that is different from the policy’s effect on all other covered reporters.”
Judge Bradley Garcia dissented, writing that a “retaliatory government policy should not be immunized simply because it is broadly and evenly applied.”
It is a rule that is similar to one from years past. They can’t be allowed access to secret material when they encourage leakers.
Recently, eight NY Times reporters were subpoenaed to determine who leaked confidential information. The administration isn’t after the reporters. They are trying to find out who leaked information in the government. Biased PBS acts like Trump is behaving like a dictator.
Meanwhile, the NY Times regularly leaks confidential and secret information, often presenting it inaccurately.
