WASHINGTON – Three employees of the military news organization Stars and Stripes have filed a federal lawsuit challenging their recent dismissals by the Pentagon, alleging the Trump administration violated their First Amendment rights by retaliating against them for speaking out about government interference in the newsroom.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Washington, D.C., names Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin and Middle East reporter Lara Korte as plaintiffs.
The Pentagon, which provides partial funding for the publication, terminated the three staff members last week. A Defense Department spokesperson declined to comment on the allegations in the suit.
Slavin said he was fired for insubordination after speaking with CBS News and raising concerns about possible censorship by the U.S. military. Korte also took part in that interview. According to the lawsuit, the firings were retaliation connected to Stars and Stripes’ reporting on worsening conditions aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.
“Stripes’ historical editorial independence is critical to its core mission of gathering and providing unbiased, credible journalism to the U.S. military community, particularly servicemembers and their families stationed overseas,” the suit says.
Lederer was removed soon after announcing that he planned to retire at the end of September. He said the Pentagon had placed a new deputy publisher beneath him at the newspaper — an active-duty service member — without notifying him in advance.
The plaintiffs are being represented by attorneys from Democracy Defenders Fund, Lawyers for Good Government, Government Accountability Project and a Yale Law School clinic.
The Defense Department and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are among the defendants named in the case.
