Stars and Stripes journalists accuse Pentagon of retaliatory terminations

The journalists say they're wrongfully being fired for speaking out about the Pentagon’s recent takeover of the news outlet and their coverage of poor conditions aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.WASHINGTON (CN) — A group of journalists at the military-focused news outlet Stars and Stripes on Thursday called their potential terminations clear retaliation for comments regarding the government’s increased oversight on the publication.Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin, reporter Lara Korte and publisher Max Lederer sued the Defense Department in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block their terminations, set to take effect on Aug. 29.“Defendants are attempting to fire plaintiffs for speaking up as private citizens in support of the press’s freedom to cover military operations, its need to reach all servicepersons and in retaliation for their publication of a news report on deteriorating conditions aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln during its extended tour of duty in the Mid-East,” the journalists write.“This action seeks to prevent the blatant violation of the First Amendment rights of these journalists and challenges the U.S. Department of Defense’s extraordinary censorship efforts in violation of both the First Amendment and DoD regulations and policies," they added.The journalists are requesting a federal judge issue a temporary restraining order immediately to prevent the terminations. Defendants in the case include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell and principal deputy assistant for public affairs Andrew Brey.According to the journalists, the retaliation campaign began with their comments in a CBS Sunday Morning piece titled “The battler over Stars and Stripes” that covered the Pentagon’s changes in its regulation of the outlet and their potential impact on its editorial independence.In January 2026, the Defense Department moved to repeal the “Stripes Regulations” that guaranteed the outlet’s independence as unnecessary and outdated.On March 9, Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg issued a “modernization” memorandum that imposed several restrictions on the newsroom.The restrictions include: a ban on using wire services like the Associated Press, a ban on the publication of “controlled unclassified information” and anything deemed inconsistent with “good order and discipline of the military,” a requirement that the ombudsperson work under the Pentagon rather than as an independent advisor to Congress and placing the outlet under the Pentagon’s control.In the CBS piece, Korte said she did not feel any constraint on her reporting but worried more changes were coming. Slavin said he would fully reject any effort by the Pentagon to push him into publishing inaccurate stories written by the Pentagon and to treat the outlet as an arm of the Pentagon’s public relations office.Immediately following the Aug. 11 article regarding the diminishing morale among the 5,000 soldiers stationed on the U.S.S. Abraham, the Defense Department ordered Lederer to terminate Slavin and Korte for insubordination related to the comments to CBS.Lederer delayed effecting the termination notices, instead asking for further clarification on Aug. 17, to which Brey replied and simply told him to “deliver the notices as instructed.”Lederer declined, retiring rather than be “part of defendants’ scheme to illegally punish Mr. Slavin and Ms. Korte for exercising their First Amendment rights.”On Aug. 21, the Defense Department delivered notices of separation to all three, charging them each with insubordination and citing their statements to the media as ground for their termination —Lederer spoke to Stars and Stripes regarding his retirement.Further, they argue the terminations also violate Defense Department regulations, as they committed no misconduct, and even if they had, the government failed to follow the proper procedure.As employees of a Department of Defense Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentality, the journalists argue they are not protected by the Civil Service Reform Act and thus cannot seek relief in Merit Systems Protection Board or the Federal Labor Relations Authority.Thursday’s lawsuit comes amid the Pentagon’s ongoing legal battle over its efforts to exert greater control over how the media covers the militia and limit press access to the building itself.The New York Times most recently urged Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman to order the Pentagon cease its requirement that journalists be escorted by government employees within the building. That provision was allowed to go into effect by the D.C. Circuit in April, after determining it was not properly before the court.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads