In a swift legal pivot, a federal appeals court has handed the Department of War a critical victory, allowing the Pentagon to require that journalists be escorted at all times within the building while a high-stakes legal battle over press credentials continues.
The ruling, issued Monday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, pauses a lower court order that would have granted reporters unescorted access to the massive military headquarters. The decision highlights the intensifying friction between national security interests and the constitutional rights of the press.
The legal fight began after the Pentagon overhauled its Facility Alternate Credentials (PFAC) policy last fall. The new rules allowed the government to revoke a journalist’s pass if they were deemed a “security or safety risk,” specifically citing the “unauthorized disclosure” of Department information.
The New York Times and reporter Julian E. Barnes sued, arguing the policy was unconstitutionally vague. In March, a district court judge agreed, ruling that the Pentagon couldn’t use “security” as a catch-all to stifle journalistic practices.
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However, the Pentagon immediately introduced an “interim” policy. While it reinstated some credentials, it added a new hurdle: reporters would now need an escort “at all times” and were restricted to five specific purposes for entry. Furthermore, the longtime “Correspondents’ Corridor” workspace inside the building was shuttered, replaced by an annex outside the main facility.
The Department of War argued that the change was a matter of life and death. In court filings, Pentagon Press Secretary Douglas Wilson stated that unescorted journalists frequently obtained “sensitive or classified” information, including intelligence assessments and operational plans.
Unchecked access, he argued, allowed reporters to identify sources and observe “activity patterns” that could jeopardize national security.
Attorneys for the Times countered that the move was a “transparent attempt” to circumvent the court’s previous rulings. They argued that requiring an escort prevents reporters from having informal conversations and verifying information, essentially ending the type of independent reporting that has existed at the Pentagon for decades.
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The appeals court panel was split on the issue. The majority ruled that the Pentagon had shown a likelihood of success on the merits, noting that agencies are generally allowed to revise policies after a court loss without seeking permission first.
“The escort requirement was not contemplated by the challenged 2025 policy,” the court noted, treating the new restrictions as a separate, generally applicable security measure rather than a direct violation of the previous injunction.
Judge J. Michelle Childs issued a sharp dissent, accusing the Department of Defense of “creative policymaking” to evade a court order.
“An injunction is not an invitation to circumvention,” Childs wrote. She argued that the Pentagon’s move to strip away unescorted access nullified the intent of the original court victory, rendering the restored press passes essentially meaningless.
The “stay” granted by the appeals court is a temporary measure. It means that for now, the Pentagon can continue to require escorts while the full appeal moves forward. The court did not address other parts of the policy, such as the closure of the internal press workspace, which remains a point of contention.
For the press corps, the ruling represents a significant shift in how the military’s nerve center is covered. For the Pentagon, it marks a successful—if controversial—effort to tighten the lid on information flow in the name of security.
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