Overview
- The D.C. Circuit, which ruled Monday in a 2-1 decision, stayed Judge Paul Friedman's April 9 order and allowed the Pentagon to require escorts for journalists.
- The majority said the government is likely to prevail on the narrow question of the escort rule, calling it a permissible new, generally applicable response to the district court’s earlier ruling.
- Judge J. Michelle Childs dissented, warning that escorts hinder basic reporting tasks and chill candid conversations with Pentagon personnel.
- The Pentagon defended the policy as necessary to curb unauthorized disclosures and said reported leaks declined after it tightened access, according to spokesman Sean Parnell.
- The case stems from a New York Times lawsuit over a 2025 credential policy that threatened access for reporters who sought sensitive information, and most major outlets refused to sign; the escort requirement now remains in place while the broader First and Fifth Amendment challenge proceeds.