Judge refuses to block Pentagon from firing Stars and Stripes staffers over CBS interview
- A federal judge refused to block the Pentagon from firing three Stars and Stripes staff members who claimed they were illegally disciplined for speaking about the military news outlet's editorial independence.
- U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden ruled that the journalists are unlikely to prove the Pentagon violated their First Amendment rights, stating that Stars and Stripes' editorial independence is not at stake.
- Stars and Stripes editor-in-chief Erik Slavin was dismissed for insubordination after giving a CBS News interview objecting to potential military censorship, while reporter Lara Korte participated in the same interview.
- The judge concluded that Slavin and Korte gave the interviews as part of their official duties as public employees rather than as private citizens, and that they were fired for giving pre-approved interviews.
- Publisher Max Lederer was dismissed shortly after announcing his retirement, claiming the Pentagon had installed a new active-duty deputy publisher without his knowledge.
A federal judge on Friday refused to block the Pentagon from firing three Stars and Stripes staff members who claimed they were illegally disciplined for speaking about the military news outlet's editorial independence. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden ruled that the journalists are unlikely to prove that the Pentagon violated their First Amendment free speech rights, concluding that Stars and Stripes' editorial independence "is not at stake here."
Stars and Stripes editor-in-chief Erik Slavin was dismissed for insubordination after giving a CBS News interview in which he objected to potential military censorship. Reporter Lara Korte participated in the same interview. Publisher Max Lederer was dismissed shortly after announcing his retirement, claiming the Pentagon had installed a new active-duty deputy publisher without his knowledge. The three sued the Pentagon to challenge their firings.
The judge concluded that Slavin and Korte gave the interviews as part of their official duties as public employees rather than as private citizens. McFadden wrote that "they are being fired for giving pre-approved interviews on their paper's behalf in which they largely toed the company line," stating this does not clearly violate the First Amendment. The plaintiffs' attorneys said they are disappointed but expect to prevail after discovery and further litigation.
法官拒绝阻止五角大楼解雇《星条旗报》员工因其参加CBS采访
联邦法官周五拒绝阻止五角大楼解雇《星条旗报》三名员工，这些员工声称因谈论该军事新闻媒体的编辑独立性而遭到非法处罚。美国地区法官特雷弗·麦克法登裁定，记者们不太可能证明五角大楼违反了其第一修正案言论自由权，并表示《星条旗报》的编辑独立性"并未受到威胁"。
《星条旗报》主编埃里克·斯拉文因在CBS新闻采访中反对潜在的军事审查而被指控不服从命令遭解雇。记者劳拉·科尔特参与了同一采访。出版商马克斯·莱德勒在宣布即将退休后不久被解雇，他声称五角大楼在未经他知情的情况下在报社下安置了一名现役军人担任副出版商。三人起诉五角大楼以挑战他们的解雇。
法官认定斯拉文和科尔特是以公职人员身份进行采访而非私人身份。麦克法登写道，"他们因代表报纸进行事先批准的采访而被解雇，在这些采访中他们基本上遵守了公司路线"，称这并未明显违反第一修正案。原告律师表示他们对判决感到失望，但期望在进一步的诉讼和证据开示后最终胜诉。