Published • loading... • Updated
Judge refuses to block Pentagon from firing Stars and Stripes staffers over CBS interview
McFadden said the three employees likely spoke in their official roles and denied an injunction, letting the Pentagon proceed with the dismissals.
- On Friday, District Judge Trevor McFadden allowed the Pentagon to proceed with terminating three Stars and Stripes staff members, rejecting their request to block the firings while their lawsuit proceeds.
- Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and Middle East reporter Lara Korte sued last week, alleging they were punished for reporting on deteriorating conditions aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln and objecting to military censorship.
- McFadden concluded Slavin and Korte gave interviews as public employees rather than private citizens, writing that while the journalists argue their termination will "chill the protected expression of themselves and others at Stripes," the First Amendment is not clearly offended.
- The lawsuit names the Defense Department and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as defendants, while Lederer was dismissed shortly after announcing his retirement and discovering the Pentagon installed an active-duty service member as deputy publisher.
- McFadden, who also presides over The Associated Press lawsuit regarding presidential event access, previously affirmed on First Amendment grounds that the government cannot punish news organizations for content, though his ruling here differed.
Insights by Ground AI
88 Articles
88 Articles
Trump-Appointed Judge Rejects Stars and Stripes Staffers’ Bid to Block Pentagon Firings * The Gateway Pundit * by Jim Hᴏft
The court ruled that the taxpayer-funded employees likely spoke in their official capacities, not as private citizens protected by the First Amendment.
·St. Louis, United States
Read Full Article
Hegseth ‘stacking up the wins’: Judge declines to halt firings of Stars and Stripes staffers
A district court decision found Secretary of War Pete Hegseth “stacking up the wins” after a Washington, D.C. judge ruled in favor of a set of Pentagon-related […]
·West Palm Beach, United States
Read Full Article
Max Lederer Lashes Out After Pentagon Wins Legal Battle
Ex-Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer will continue legally battling the Pentagon following a judge refusing to give an emergency stay on his termination. The post Ousted Stars and Stripes Publisher Lashes Out After Judge Sides with Pentagon Over Firings: ‘We Have a Right to Give Our Personal Opinion!’ first appeared on Mediaite.
·New York, United States
Read Full ArticleCoverage Details
Total News Sources88
Leaning Left11Leaning Right7Center61Last UpdatedBias Distribution77% Center
Bias Distribution
- 77% of the sources are Center
77% Center
14%
C 77%
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
