Fired Stars and Stripes journalists sue Hegseth and Pentagon spokesperson
The plaintiffs say the Trump administration is trying to fire them as a part of its "extraordinary censorship efforts."
Three former journalists from Stars and Stripes have filed a lawsuit against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, and an aide, alleging they were wrongfully terminated due to exercising their First Amendment rights. The plaintiffs - publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and reporter Lara Korte - claim they were fired for "insubordination" following interviews they gave to CBS News in July.
The interviews detailed concerns over mental health and resource shortages aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier. After the stories were published, Lederer was ordered to serve the notices of separation. However, he retired instead, but the Pentagon had already fired him. The lawsuit asserts the Defense Department is attempting to censor the military news outlet and violate the journalists' First Amendment rights.
The case seeks to prevent this blatant violation and challenges the DoD's extraordinary censorship efforts.
Written by urgent.news from CBS News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
- Three journalists sue Pentagon after being fired from military news outlet theguardian.com
- 3 Stars and Stripes staffers sue Pentagon over firings at military news outlet thehill.com
- U.S. military uses laser to shoot down 3 cartel drones at southern border, Pentagon says cbsnews.com
- Pete Hegseth is worried about the Pentagon’s ‘Soviet-style bureaucracy,’ but the military’s $285 billion maintenance mess is all-American fortune.com
