Pentagon Asks Court to Keep Its Restrictions on Journalists

The Defense Department wants to keep in place a policy requiring escorts for journalists in the building while it appeals a court decision that tossed out broader restrictions on the media.

The Pentagon on Friday asked a federal judge to allow it to continue requiring escorts whenever journalists enter the military complex, a restriction that it argues is essential to guarding against national security leaks.

Judge Paul Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has twice tossed out major parts of the department’s restrictions on reporters, saying they were unconstitutional, after The New York Times challenged them in a lawsuit.

The Pentagon has vowed to appeal those decisions, and it asked the court on Friday to keep in place the escort policy while it pursues its case.