Federal judge allows Pentagon to fire three Stars and Stripes journalists

By Liam Reilly, CNN

(CNN) — A federal judge on Friday ruled that the Pentagon can fire three Stars and Stripes journalists, the latest in a series of blows to press freedoms in the military as the agency has sought to undo the newspaper’s editorial independence.

US District Judge Trevor McFadden denied temporary restraining order requests from Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin and Middle East reporter Lara Korte, allowing the Pentagon to move forward with their firings. Friday’s written ruling claims the government likely did not violate the journalists’ First Amendment rights.

“Plaintiffs ultimately fail to carry their significant burden to show that they are clearly entitled to a preliminary injunction,” McFadden wrote.

McFadden’s denial of the temporary restraining orders is a setback for Slavin, Lederer and Korte, who sought to be reinstated to their positions. An attorney for the trio said they were “disappointed” with the ruling.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. It’s unclear whether the agency has fired the trio since McFadden’s ruling.

Lederer, Slavin and Korte sued the Pentagon on August 28, one week after they alleged they were illegally pushed out, accusing it of doing so over personal statements protected under the First Amendment.

The lawsuit claims the Pentagon was displeased with a July 5 “CBS Sunday Morning” segment that included statements by Slavin and Korte about changes to Stars and Stripes’ independence. After the military newspaper reported on hardships aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, the Pentagon directed Lederer to push out Slavin and Korte, which he did not do, according to the lawsuit. Lederer would later announce his retirement.

In his ruling, McFadden wrote that Slavin and Korte “requested and received permission from their superiors for their remarks in advance.” Later in the filing, McFadden argued that “Plaintiffs’ own pleadings and the CBS News segment suggest that they spoke as part of their official duties and not as private citizens.”

“They are thus unlikely to succeed on the merits of their First Amendment claim and do not demonstrate irreparable harm,” wrote McFadden, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017.

In Lederer’s case, McFadden wrote that his “failure to carry out a directive from a supervisor finds no shelter under the First Amendment.”

Elsewhere in the ruling, McFadden wrote that the trio’s “real complaint seems to be that they were victims of a cruel bait-and-switch.”

“Perhaps discovery will strengthen Plaintiffs’ case. But at bottom, on the current record, Plaintiffs’ real complaint seems to be that they were victims of a cruel bait-and-switch,” McFadden wrote. “They are being fired for giving pre-approved interviews on their paper’s behalf in which they largely toed the company line. Whatever else such a scheme may violate, it does not clearly offend the First Amendment.”

The ruling follows a Friday morning hearing, which came on the final day of a week-long reprieve from the Pentagon that temporarily stayed the trio’s terminations.

McFadden’s ruling is a blow for press freedoms within the US military. Stars and Stripes, which is partially funded by the agency, has a decades-long record of editorial independence. In January, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell posted on X that the Department of War sought to “modernize” the military newspaper’s operations and “refocus its content away from woke distractions.”

That same month, the Pentagon moved to repeal the Stripes regulations that protected the outlet’s editorial independence.

In addition to the lawsuit by Slavin, Lederer and Korte, the Pentagon faces two other lawsuits from individuals associated with Stars and Stripes. In early June, two advisory board members sued the agency over the “modernization” efforts, claiming they amount to illegal censorship. Later that month, the outlet’s ombudsman sued the agency, alleging First Amendment violations after being forced out in April.

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