Stars and Stripes journalists sue Pentagon over firing after critical reporting

Three journalists from the American military publication Stars and Stripes have filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Defense and its director, Pete Hegseth. They claim that they were wrongfully dismissed after publishing an article about the difficult conditions of service on the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, and consider this a violation of the right to freedom of speech.

This is reported by The Guardian.

The plaintiffs are former Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Eric Slavin and the publication’s Middle East correspondent Lara Corte.

What caused the conflict with the Pentagon

The case was centered on the Stars and Stripes article about conditions aboard the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during its long deployment to the Middle East.

According to the journalists, about 5 thousand sailors faced food and water shortages, problems with postal services, long work shifts and a lack of time for rest for several months.

The lawsuit also states that the long service and significant physical exertion negatively affected the physical and psychological state of the servicemen.

The day after the publication of the material, publisher Max Lederer, according to the plaintiffs, received an order to dismiss Slavin and Korte.

The journalists were accused of “violation of subordination”

Slavin and Korte claim that the formal reason for their dismissal was an alleged “violation of subordination.”

The matter was their interview with CBS News, during which the journalists publicly defended the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes and against censorship by the military command.

The lawsuit emphasizes that these statements were consistent with the long-standing official position of the Ministry of Defense itself regarding the editorial status of the publication.

The journalists are convinced that the real reason for the personnel decisions was precisely the critical publication.

The publisher refused to fire the journalists — and lost his job himself

Lederer refused to comply with the order to fire Slavin and Korte.

He decided to resign in late September and informed the editorial staff of this by e-mail. In his position, following the order would mean participating in the illegal punishment of journalists for exercising the right to free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution.

However, shortly after this, the Pentagon fired Lederer himself early.

In addition, the lawsuit claims that he was appointed a deputy from among active military personnel without prior approval.

Journalists claim that the independence of the publication is threatened

The plaintiffs emphasize that the case concerns not only their dismissals, but also the editorial independence of one of the oldest US military publications.

Stars and Stripes has been working for the American military community since the Civil War and is funded by the government, but has historically enjoyed editorial independence from military command.

According to journalists, the ability to work without censorship is critical to the publication’s mission — to provide American service members and their families, especially those overseas, with unbiased and reliable information.

Now, three former Stars and Stripes employees are trying to prove in federal court that the Pentagon’s actions were illegal and violated their First Amendment rights.