Three Stars and Stripes Staffers Sue Pentagon Over Military Newsroom Firing
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3 Stars and Stripes staffers sue Pentagon over firings at military news outlet Three Stars and Stripes staffers sued the Pentagon in federal court on Thursday, looking to prevent last week’s firings by the Department of Defense (DOD) at the military-focused newspaper. Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin and reporter Lara Korte filed the complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging…
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New York PostFormer Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer sued the Pentagon to challenge his firing. LinkedIn
HuffPostA trio of journalists at Stars and Stripes fired by the Pentagon a week after the paper reported on deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln sued Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Thursday, claiming retaliation and a violation of their First Amendment rights.
Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — Three staff members from the Stars and Stripes military news outlet are suing to challenge their recent firings by the Pentagon, accusing the Trump administration of violating their First Amendment free speech rights to speak out against government interference in their work.
USA TodayThe fired staff members of the military newspaper Stars and Stripes sued the Pentagon over their dismissals on Aug. 27, accusing the military of “extraordinary censorship efforts” in violation of the First Amendment.
The Guardian USMax Lederer, the news outlet’s former publisher Max Lederer, Erik Slavin, the editor-in-chief, and Lara Korte, Middle East correspondent, allege the defense department and Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, “are attempting to fire Plaintiffs for speaking up as private citizens in support of the press’s freedom to cover military operations, its need to reach all servicepersons, and in retaliation for their publication of a news report on deteriorating conditions aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln during its extended tour of duty in the Mid-East”.
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“Stripes’ historical editorial independence is critical to its core mission of gathering and providing unbiased, credible journalism to the U.S. military community, particularly servicemembers and their families stationed overseas,” the suit says.
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Associated Press“Stripes’ historical editorial independence is critical to its core mission of gathering and providing unbiased, credible journalism to the U.S. military community, particularly servicemembers and their families stationed overseas,” the suit says.
The Guardian US“Stripes’ historical editorial independence is critical to its core mission of gathering and providing unbiased, credible journalism to the U.S. military community, particularly servicemembers and their families stationed overseas,” the suit also says.
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Former Middle East reporter for Stars and Stripes Lara Korte was let go and has issued a lawsuit against the Pentagon amid her departure. LinkedIn
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USA TodayThe Pentagon also fired publisher Max Lederer and Middle East reporter Lara Korte.
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Slavin says he was dismissed for insubordination after giving an interview to CBS News in which he objected to potential censorship by the U.S. military. Korte participated in the same interview. Their lawsuit says they were punished in retaliation for publishing a report on deteriorating conditions aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.
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The Guardian USSlavin and Korte said they were dismissed for supposed “insubordination” during an interview with CBS News in which they objected to potential censorship by the US military. According to the complaint, no one at the Pentagon took “immediate action” after the interview aired on 5 July.
USA TodayThe federal lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, came less than a week after the newspaper’s former editor-in-chief, Erik Slavin, told news outlets that he was dismissed for insubordination after a CBS interview in which he said censorship by the military would "constitute a red line." He maintained that the newspaper "must remain editorially independent."
4 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 New York Post A Pentagon spokesperson denied further comment after the former employees filed lawsuits targeting the Pentagon and Pete Hegseth. AP Photo/Alex Brandon
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02 HuffPost Lederer, Slavin and Korte say they are being retaliated against for their reporting — as well as for “speaking up as private citizens” — after they were asked in a CBS News segment in July about editorial independence at Stars and Stripes, a federally funded but independent news outlet, under the Trump administration.
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03 USA Today The Department of Defense and Secretary Pete Hegseth, along with chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell and Andrew Brey, Hegseth’s principal deputy assistant for public affairs, are listed as defendants.
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04 The Guardian US The journalists allege that “the spark that moved [the Pentagon] to act” was an 11 August news report about the conditions on the troubled USS Abraham Lincoln, which had been supporting US military operations in the middle east for nearly nine months.
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- huffpost
- nypost
- ap
- thehill
- usatoday
- guardian