New York Times sues Pentagon over reporting rules, citing First Amendment rights

The New York Times filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon over new rules restricting how reporters cover the U.S. military, claiming they violate the First Amendment.

The New York Times filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon over new rules restricting how reporters cover the U.S. military, claiming they violate the First Amendment.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Washington, alleges that the 21-page agreement that Pentagon reporters were told to sign in October was unlawful and unconstitutional. Many reporters, including six at The New York Times, handed in their Pentagon access badges in protest over the policy.

The Defense Department's new policy "seeks to restrict journalists’ ability to do what journalists have always done — ask questions of government employees and gather information to report stories that the public beyond official pronouncements," the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit states it will "vigorously defend against the violation of these rights, just as we have long done throughout administrations opposed to scrutiny and accountability."

"The policy is an attempt to exert control over reporting the government dislikes, in violation of a free press’s right to seek information under their First and Fifth Amendment rights protected by the Constitution," a spokesperson for The New York Times said in a statement.