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Judge Clears Pentagon to Fire Stars and Stripes Journalists
Confirmed
In Short: A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has allowed the Pentagon to proceed with firing three Stars and Stripes journalists, rejecting their lawsuit.
In a decision on Friday, a federal judge in the District of Columbia permitted the Pentagon to terminate three employees of the Stars and Stripes military newspaper, despite a pending lawsuit. The judge dismissed the journalists' claims, stating that their real complaint was a 'cruel bait-and-switch.
The journalists, who were sued on August 27th, had accused the Pentagon of firing them for comments made in a CBS News interview. Their attorney argued that the interviews were conducted as sources, not reporters, and on matters of public concern. However, the judge noted that the journalists routinely conducted interviews as part of their duties and that the CBS interview was conducted at the Stars and Stripes headquarters with other employees present.
Brett Covington, a Justice Department lawyer representing the Pentagon, argued that the journalists' actions were within their normal duties and not protected by the First Amendment. The judge agreed, stating that Stars and Stripes reporters have limited First Amendment rights while acting in their official capacity.
The decision comes after Pentagon officials ordered the journalists' publisher, Lederer, to issue notices of separation to Slavin and Korte, following their appearance in the CBS News piece. The judge's ruling allows the Pentagon to move forward with the terminations, despite the ongoing legal challenge.
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- "[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 judge wrote.
- In the Stars and Stripes case, the fired journalists had not shown they were speaking as private citizens, McFadden said.
- “We continue to believe that the Pentagon should not be able to fire journalists for speaking out against censorship and defending the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes,” they said.
- In court proceedings Friday, Taryn Wilgus Null, one of the attorneys for the three fired journalists, argued that they had spoken to the news media as private citizens on a matter of public concern.
- Lederer said he was instructed to fire Slavin and Korte the day after Stars and Stripes published an article, written by Alison Bath, detailing food and water shortages, disrupted mail service and mental health struggles aboard the aircraft carrier.
- The fired journalists said that their case is not primarily about them but whether service members can rely on a free and independent press and if the civilian and military journalists at Stars and Stripes can do their jobs without fear of retaliation.