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A U.S. district judge has ordered the restoration of press access to the Pentagon.
Judge Condemns 'Unlawful' Pentagon Policy, Orders Defense Department to 'Restore' Full Media Access
April 10 2026, Published 4:16 p.m. ET
A district judge has sided with the media in a recent ruling and called out the Pentagon for violating a court order by limiting press access. The Pentagon's move was reportedly aimed at restricting credentialed journalists from covering the U.S. military.
The judge has not only backed the media, but also ordered the Department of Defense to comply with his previous order. The department is now required to comply with the order.
However, the Department of Defense has indicated it plans to appeal the ruling.
Pentagon and Pete Hegseth Limiting Flow of Information to the Public: Judge
According to a report by The Guardian, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman ordered the Defense Department to comply with his order during a hearing on March 30. Friedman seemed skeptical of the Pentagon’s latest policies during the hearing.
For him, the new guidelines appeared to restrict journalists' access to the Pentagon.
Friedman stated that the court had vacated several parts of the previous policy, but the Department of Defense continued to apply the same restrictions. While New York Times journalists had their credentials returned, the judge said that the Pentagon had failed to truly "reinstate" the full privileges that came with them.
An X post by Bloomberg Law sharing a news report on the Pentagon violating an earlier court order.
Friedman wrote, “The department cannot simply reinstate an unlawful policy under the guise of taking ‘new’ action and expect the court to look the other way.”
He also noted that the Trump administration has currently allotted Times reporters and other press pass holders a separate, designated space that is "Trump-friendly."
However, the journalists were denied access to existing areas within the building, the judge mentioned. “The court’s order requires the department to restore the plaintiffs’ access to the Pentagon,” he wrote.
The judge further claimed that instead of complying with the court’s order, the Department of Defense had revoked all privileges from press pass holders.
At the end of the ruling, Friedman said that he believed the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were limiting the flow of information to the American public. He ordered the Trump administration to file a status report by April 16, detailing the steps taken to comply with the court's order.
Defense Department Plans to Appeal Court’s Order
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell issues statement on the court ruling in a post on X..
While Friedman spoke about defending the rights of the journalists, the Pentagon has already announced plans to appeal the ruling. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell shared a post on X stating that the department disagrees with the court’s ruling.
Parnell claimed that the department had “reinstated the PFACs of every journalist identified in the Order and issued a materially revised policy.”
He added that the department remains committed to press access at the Pentagon, in accordance with its “statutory obligation to ensure the safe and secure operation of the Pentagon Reservation.”