Pentagon Pauses Terminations of Stars and Stripes Journalists Pending Lawsuit

AP Photo/Omar Havana

The Pentagon agreed on Friday to temporarily halt the terminations of three Stars and Stripes journalists as they challenge their dismissals in federal court, according to Politico reporter Josh Gerstein.

“BREAKING: Pentagon agrees to hold off firing 3 Stars & Stripes journalists through next Friday to allow their court challenge to be argued,” Gerstein wrote on X at 5:32 PM ET. “Reprieve came as Judge Trevor McFadden (Trump/DC) mulled their request for TRO” in federal court in Washington, D.C.

McFadden, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017, was considering the journalists’ request for a temporary restraining order, or TRO, that would temporarily block the Pentagon from carrying out their firings while their legal challenge is heard in court.

Publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and reporter Lara Korte sued the government Thursday, arguing that the Pentagon unlawfully retaliated against them for defending the military newspaper’s editorial independence and for its critical coverage of conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

The lawsuit names Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, and the Department of Defense as defendants and alleges violations of the journalists’ First Amendment rights and federal administrative law. Slavin and Korte are seeking reinstatement to their positions.

The three received separation notices on Aug. 21 after months of growing friction between Stars and Stripes and Pentagon leadership, with the Defense Department citing a CBS News interview in which Slavin and Korte defended the publication’s independence.

“I am working for Stars and Stripes. Not for the Pentagon. Not for any administration. Not for any policymaker. I am here to cover the military community,” Korte said in the July interview.

The lawsuit also points to the timing of the dismissals, as Politico reports, which came shortly after Stars and Stripes published reporting on worsening conditions aboard the Lincoln during its record-breaking deployment in the Middle East. Lederer alleges he was instructed to fire Slavin and Korte one day after the newspaper published an Aug. 11 story about the carrier. He refused and subsequently decided to retire.

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