Federal judge denies restraining order; Pentagon can fire Stars and Stripes journalists

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden issued a 24-page ruling on September 4, denying a restraining order and finding the Pentagon likely did not violate the First Amendment rights of three Stars and Stripes journalists. The ruling allows the Department of Defense to proceed with firing publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and reporter Lara Korte. The three employees were given separation notices in August and placed on administrative leave. The alleged insubordination for Slavin and Korte was related to interviews they gave to CBS News for "CBS Sunday Morning" that aired in July. In the CBS interview, Korte said she worked for Stars and Stripes, "not for the Pentagon, not for any administration, not for any policymaker." The firings took place shortly after Stars and Stripes published an article on August 11 detailing flagging mental health concerns and food and water shortages aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier. According to the lawsuit, Pentagon officials ordered Lederer to issue separation notices to Slavin and Korte a day after the USS Abraham Lincoln story ran. Lederer declined to present the separation notices and opted to resign, but was fired before he could do so. Judge McFadden found that Korte and Slavin's speech was likely given in their capacity as Stars and Stripes employees, not as private citizens. The judge wrote: "At bottom, on the current record, Plaintiffs' real complaint seems to be that they were victims of a cruel bait-and-switch. They are being fired for giving pre-approved interviews on their paper's behalf in which they largely toed the company line." The journalists' attorney Taryn Wilgus Null argued that the clients were appearing as sources, not as reporters, for the CBS piece and were speaking "on matters of public concern" outside of their official duties. Justice Department lawyer Brett Covington countered that all three journalists routinely did interviews as part of their normal duties and noted the CBS interview took place at Stars and Stripes headquarters with other employees visible in the background. Covington cited an email from Korte in which she wrote she would "rather eat glass" than allow the federal government to tell her what she could or couldn't write. Covington told the court the USS Abraham Lincoln story publication was unrelated to the firings and that the termination process started more than a month before the story ran. McFadden stated: "Plaintiffs argue that their termination will chill the protected expression of themselves and others at Stripes. Plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate a chill here." Lederer announced his retirement after the Pentagon installed a new deputy publisher without his knowledge. The Pentagon partially funds Stars and Stripes. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is among the lawsuit's named defendants. At least two other lawsuits have accused the Pentagon of interfering with Stars and Stripes's editorial integrity and independence: Pulitzer-winning reporters Susan Dardarian and William Church sued the Pentagon in June, and the publication's former ombudsman Jacqueline Smith also sued in June.