CPJ joins 22 partners in supporting New York Times suit against Pentagon’s press restrictions

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) joined an amicus brief, authored by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), in support of the New York Times’s lawsuit against the United States Department of Defense’s recent restrictions on press access to the Pentagon. Under the new policy, the Department may deny or revoke a Pentagon press pass when a journalist reports on information beyond what the agency has approved for public release. 

The amicus brief, supported by 22 other press freedom and media organizations, argues that the freedom for reporters to ask questions of military personnel is crucial to reporting in the public interest. It also outlines how the new policy pressures reporters to tailor coverage out of fear of reprisal from Pentagon decision-makers and losing access — which is both legally impermissible and a significant blow to a free press. 

The Department introduced the new policy in September 2025 and updated it in October. In response, CPJ wrote a letter to the United States Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs warning that limiting press access suppresses freedom of speech. On October 15, the vast majority of Pentagon reporters gave up their credentials in response to the restrictions. The New York Times filed its suit in December 2025.

Read a copy of the amicus brief here.