Pentagon can require reporters to be escorted during appeal process, judges rule

Source: AP

Updated 7:35 PM EDT, April 27, 2026


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department can require journalists to be escorted on Pentagon grounds while the Trump administration appeals a judge’s decision to block its enforcement of a press access policy challenged by The New York Times, an appeals court ruled Monday.

The ruling by a divided three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit isn’t the final decision in the newspaper’s lawsuit over a new Pentagon press credential policy. But the panel’s majority opinion said the administration is likely to succeed in showing that the policy’s escort requirement is legally valid.

The panel granted the government’s request to suspend an April 9 decision by U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman, who ruled that the Defense Department was violating his earlier order to restore access to the Pentagon for reporters. Circuit Judges Justin Walker, J. Michelle Childs and Bradley Garcia heard the case, with Childs dissenting from the 2-1 majority.

“Reporters can hardly verify sources, gather information, or speak candidly with Department personnel with an escort looming over their shoulders,” Childs wrote.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-press-nyt-new-york-times-access-168065dd45996bc48d6a312a8f78e583