Reporting
Pentagon Tries to Fire Stars and Stripes Editor after USS Lincoln Coverage
A federal judge on August 28, 2026, temporarily blocked the Pentagon's attempted firing of Stars and Stripes journalists, following a First Amendment lawsuit challenging their terminations after reporting on deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln The Washington Post Under an emergency agreement reached in court, Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin, Middle East correspondent Lara Korte, and publisher Max Lederer will remain on paid administrative leave rather than being permanently separated Military.com The journalists filed their federal lawsuit on August 27, 2026, alleging that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell orchestrated the terminations as retaliation for an August 11 exposé CBS News.
That Stars and Stripes report detailed severe food and water shortages, grueling schedules, and mental health crises among sailors deployed on the aircraft carrier Newsweek.
The Department of Defense officially maintains that the terminations were based on "insubordination" stemming from a July CBS News interview where the journalists defended the paper's editorial independence PBS NewsHour.
The conflict follows a series of policy changes at the military newspaper, including a March 2026 ban on commercial news and wire reports, and the April 2026 firing of the paper's ombudsman Salon.com.
Additionally, the Pentagon designated its open press office as a classified space in June 2026, prompting several major news organizations to surrender their physical building credentials The Washington Post According to retired Army Brigadier General Leela Gray, a congressional candidate speaking on a late August podcast, these actions represent a "systematic dismantling of access to information" that threatens to break decades of trust built between the military and the public New Dem Action Fund.
Gray warned that implementing "information blackouts" and bypassing traditional civilian leadership could severely harm military recruitment and retention, as families lose confidence in the leadership's decisions VoteVets.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden is expected to rule on whether to issue a preliminary injunction to block the terminations permanently The Guardian.
The temporary block remains in effect until the court hears further arguments scheduled for September 4, 2026 Independent Reporting / Court Proceedings.