YES!!! COURT SCHOOLS HEGSETH IN PENTAGON PRESS PASS CASE!
Last week I told you how the administration’s attorneys in the Pentagon press access case actually had to file *corrections* to statements they had made in court because during oral arguments the DOJ’s lawyers had explained that *asking a question* of a Pentagon official was, and I quote, “soliciting a criminal act” if the answer to the question would have revealed classified information. You remember that fiasco, right? (If not, you can read about it here: https://annepmitchell.substack.com/p/remember-how-the-court-smacked-hegseth )
And the week before I told you about the actual ruling from the Court, with a headline that I thought said it all: “Judge Pummels Pentagon Policy Prohibiting Press – Violates 1st and 5th Amendment! (What a Way to Wrap the Week!)”
(And I have to say that I was sad that more people didn’t recognize my stellar alliteration. đŸ˜‚ You can see that alliteratively headlined article here: https://annepmitchell.substack.com/p/woot-judge-pummels-pentagon-policy )
Well, just now the Court issued an order in that same case, on the motion that was the subject of that “asking a question is a criminal act” hearing.
You see, following the last pummeling, Hegseth reissued the press access policy memo, just slightly reworded (“meet the new memo, same as the old memo”), and so the New York Times (the named plaintiffs) filed a motion to compel the Pentagon to comply with the Court’s order (which had basically done the judicial equivalent of redlining the Pentagon’s press policy). It was the hearing on the Motion to Compel during which the DOJ’s lawyer informed the Court that asking a question could be a criminal act.
To say that the Court was not amused would be a massive understatement.
And so today Judge Paul Friedman issued a 20-page opinion and order (included for Notes from the Front members) making sure that all of the boys and girls at the Pentagon understand the meaning of the First Amendment to our Constitution.
He *opens* the opinion with this:
“Proposed by Congress in 1789, and ratified in 1791, the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides:
‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.’
The First Amendment empowers the press to publish what it will and the public to read what it chooses, free of official proscription.”
Yowza!
He then goes on to explain how Hegseth tried to “end run” the order from a few weeks ago by “hastily issuing a new “interim” policy that defies the Court’s Order in both “letter and spirit.” ”
And this is just page 3! Can you *feel* the spanking coming on??
And that ‘interrim’ policy, instead of restoring journalists’ access which was what the Court had ordered, instead restricted *everyone’s* access! It was like Hegseth was saying “You don’t like how we’re deciding who gets access to what? Fine, then nobody will get access to anything! You get cut off and you get cut off, *everyone* gets cut off!”
Except he forgot one little thing. He’s not the boss of the Court. The Court is the boss of him when it comes to little details like, oh, I dunno.. *violating the Constitution*!
Says the Court “In short, the Department has responded to the Court’s express instruction to return the PFACs previously held by The Times’ journalists and restore the access to the Pentagon that came with those credentials by instead cutting off that access for all journalists. That response flouts the Court’s explicit directives and disregards the constitutional principles at the heart of its Opinion.”
And then:
“The Court cannot conclude this Opinion without noting once again what this case is really about: the attempt by the Secretary of Defense to dictate the information received by the American people, to control the message so that the public hears and sees only what the Secretary and the Trump Administration want them to hear and see. The Constitution demands better. The American public demands better, too. Over the past few weeks, the Court has received dozens of letters and postcards from people across the country explaining what the First Amendment means to them.”
Then he quotes one of the letters! And, oh yeah, describes the Pentagon as, and I quote, “Kafkaesque”!
Spank, spank, spankety spank!
Notes from the Front members: Judge Friedman’s most excellent opinion is in your inbox now!
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P.S. If you actually read all the way to the bottom please leave a comment that includes the word “Who”. It will show me that my efforts aren’t in vain and that people actually *do* read these things, and it will drive those who just skim crazy wondering why everyone is talking about … Who? ;~)
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