US appeals court keeps in place Pentagon's escort policy for journalists

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, July 16 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court sided with President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday in a case brought by ‌The New York Times over the Pentagon's press access restrictions.

Press freedom ‌advocates have criticized policy changes under the Trump administration that limited journalists' access to the Pentagon, ​saying they suppressed freedom of speech.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said the Pentagon's policy requiring government escorts for journalists at the Pentagon could stand. It overturned a decision by a judge at a lower ‌court.

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"While The Times is ⁠disappointed with this interim decision, we appreciate that the court has expedited the appeal and look forward to litigating it on ⁠the merits," a spokesperson for the newspaper said in a statement.

The Justice Department welcomed Thursday's order.

The panel said that the Pentagon was "likely to succeed on their argument that ​this generally ​applicable escort requirement does not constitute a 'sufficiently ​adverse action to give rise ‌to an actionable First Amendment (free speech) claim' of retaliation."

The Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in October that journalists could be deemed security risks and have their press passes revoked if they solicited unauthorized military personnel to disclose classified, and in some cases unclassified, information.

Of the 56 news outlets in the Pentagon ‌Press Association, only one agreed to sign an ​acknowledgment of the policy, with reporters who did ​not sign surrendering their passes.

U.S. ​District Judge Paul Friedman ruled in April that the Pentagon ‌was hampering journalists in defiance of a ​court order that ​required it to restore access to credentialed reporters covering the seat of U.S. military power.

At a March 30 hearing, Friedman expressed concerns the Pentagon ​had issued revised restrictions for ‌journalists earlier that month that went even further than those he ​previously blocked. In June, Friedman halted the escort requirement.

(Reporting by Kanishka ​Singh in Washington; Editing by Kate Mayberry)