Three staff members from the Stars and Stripes military newspaper have filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Defense, alleging that their recent firing was part of an effort to erode the paper’s independence. In Thursday’s court filings, the newspaper’s publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin and Middle East reporter Lara Korte argued that their First Amendment rights to free speech had been infringed. The Stars and Stripes has long billed itself as an independent source for military news, though it receives government funding for its operations.
But last week, the three journalists received notices of termination from the Pentagon that reportedly accused them of insubordination. That has raised questions about the Defense Department’s longtime commitment to respecting the newspaper’s editorial independence. Thursday’s complaint accuses the department and several of its leaders, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, of engaging in “extraordinary censorship efforts”.
Korte explained the journalists’ reason for filing the lawsuit in a social media post. The lawsuit points to a July interview on CBS Sunday Morning as the “genesis” of the friction between the Stars and Stripes journalists and the Trump administration. Both Korte and Slavin were featured in the segment.
A reporter for the morning news show asked them about their work and recent statements from the Pentagon indicating it would seek to redirect the newspaper’s focus. The lawsuit points to the newspaper’s key role in breaking coverage about deteriorating conditions on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier that has been on deployment, without a port stop, since November of last year. The Stars and Stripes was one of the first media outlets to cover the supply shortages on the ship, as well as the mental health struggles of the sailors working through the record-long deployment.
But Trump and Hegseth have both denied reports of poor living conditions on the USS Lincoln, calling such news “fake”. The lawsuit suggests the recent firings may be retaliation for the Stars and Stripes reporting on the subject. A day after one of its articles was published, the lawsuit alleges that the Defense Department contacted Lederer, the publisher, about firing Korte and Slavin.
The department allegedly pointed to the CBS interview from weeks earlier as justification. Lederer did not follow through with the order to deliver the termination notices. Instead, he announced his intention to retire in September.
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