{"id":2651659,"date":"2026-08-29T10:07:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T14:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pentagon-hands-stars-and-stripes-journalists-a-one-week-delay-of-dismissal\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T10:14:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T14:14:47","slug":"pentagon-hands-stars-and-stripes-journalists-a-one-week-delay-of-dismissal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pentagon-hands-stars-and-stripes-journalists-a-one-week-delay-of-dismissal\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon hands Stars and Stripes journalists a one-week delay of dismissal"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpentagon-hands-stars-and-stripes-journalists-a-one-week-delay-of-dismissal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2651659&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Pentagon has agreed to delay the immediate firing of three Stars and Stripes employees for one week following a legal challenge from the journalists. their lawyers filed a lawsuit claiming their dismissals for insubordination violated the First Amendment and insisting that the newspaper remain self-reliant of Pentagon political influence. During a court hearing, Judge Trevor Neil McFadden granted a brief postponement of the firings until September 4 while considering the case.The employees argued they were dismissed for advocating journalistic independence and speaking out against Pentagon interference, notably criticizing the department&#8217;s attempts to control their reporting. The Pentagon initially opposed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-georgia-update-judge-issues-restraining-order-for-10-days-preventing-defendants-from-destroying-or-erasing-dominion-voting-machines\/\" title=\"BREAKING GEORGIA UPDATE: Judge Issues Restraining Order for 10 Days Preventing Defendants from Destroying or Erasing Dominion Voting Machines\">temporary restraining order<\/a>, citing military discipline and morale concerns, but ultimately agreed to the one-week halt after deliberation. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rfk-jr-to-appeal-decision-letting-michigan-keep-him-on-ballot\/\" title=\"RFK Jr. To Appeal Decision Letting Michigan Keep Him On Ballot\">dispute highlights tensions<\/a> over press independence within military outlets and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >raises broader legal questions<\/a> about First Amendment protections for government employees.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pentagon\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"271\">Pentagon<\/a> has agreed to pause the immediate firings of three <em>Stars and Stripes<\/em> employees for one week after the fired reporters and editors had sought a temporary restraining order to halt their removal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. District Judge for the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"260\">District of Columbia<\/a> Trevor Neil McFadden, a Trump appointee, told the federal court during a hearing on Friday that the Pentagon came to an agreement to grant a delay on the firing until Sept. 4, according to a <em>Politico<\/em> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/08\/28\/stars-and-stripes-journalists-facing-firing-get-one-week-reprieve-01055447\">report<\/a> confirmed to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> by Democracy Defenders Fund, which represents the plaintiffs. The agreement came after attorneys for the <em>Stars and Stripes<\/em> employees and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"438\">Justice Department<\/a> lawyers argued over whether a TRO would be justified in the case.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4705144\/pentagon-hands-stars-stripes-journalists-one-week-delay-dismissal\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Pentagon hands Stars and Stripes journalists a one-week delay of dismissal<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4704799\/appeals-court-denies-peter-navarro-bid-rehear-contempt-challenge\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Appeals court denies Peter Navarro bid to rehear contempt challenge: \u2018Always headed to Supreme Court\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4704703\/trump-administration-appeal-second-block-mail-voting-order-usps\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump administration appeals judge\u2019s second block on mail-in voting order<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Stars and Stripes<\/em> Publisher Max Lederer, Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin, and reporter Lara Korte <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/4703465\/stars-and-stripes-lawsuit-pentagon-firings-insubordination\/\">filed a lawsuit<\/a> against the Pentagon on Thursday over their firing from the congressionally-funded news outlet. The employees of the editorially-independent outlet under the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-defense\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"335\">Department of War<\/a> argued each of their terminations \u2014 made on the grounds of \u201cinsubordination\u201d \u2014 violated the First Amendment.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Slavin and Korte say they were fired for telling <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/cbs-news\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1807\">CBS News<\/a> that <em>Stars and Stripes<\/em> should stay independent from the War\u00a0Department and any political influence, while Lederer refused to fire the two employees when Pentagon officials told him to do so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When a <em>CBS Sunday Morning<\/em> reporter asked Slavin in an early July segment about any \u201cred lines\u201d he has when it comes to following Pentagon orders versus following the freedom of the press, Slavin answered, \u201cDon\u2019t run a perfectly accurate story, run this instead. Here it is, written by the Pentagon. That would be a red line.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m working for <em>Stars and Stripes<\/em>, not for the Pentagon, not for any administration, not for any policymaker. I\u2019m here to cover the military community,\u201d Korte\u00a0also <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LYkhH8DMoCI\">told<\/a> CBS News in the news segment at the center of the lawsuit.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pentagon had placed Korte, Slavin, and Lederer on administrative leave. The <em>Stars and Stripes <\/em>employees\u2019 lawyers had asked the court in the TRO to keep the three journalists on administrative leave and just stave off the termination, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.295983\/gov.uscourts.dcd.295983.2.1_3.pdf\">calling<\/a> the TRO request \u201climited, unobtrusive, and sought to prevent further retaliatory actions that will irreparably chill the exercise of First Amendment rights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But, the Pentagon lawyers had initially argued that a TRO would be unjustified.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn any event, if Plaintiffs prevail on the merits, they can be reinstated. Thus, any temporary deprivation of First Amendment rights (there is none) is outweighed by the government\u2019s interests in maintaining the troop loyalty, discipline, and morale,\u201d DOJ lawyer Brett Covington <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.295983\/gov.uscourts.dcd.295983.12.0.pdf\">wrote<\/a> in a Friday court filing.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/4703465\/stars-and-stripes-lawsuit-pentagon-firings-insubordination\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"4703465\">STARS AND STRIPES EMPLOYEES SUE PENTAGON TO BLOCK FIRINGS FOR INSUBORDINATION<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After McFadden asked the Pentagon for more time so he could consider the circumstances of the case, telling the courtroom, \u201cI\u2019ve only known about this for a couple hours,\u201d according to <em>Politico<\/em>, the court took a recess, and McFadden then announced that the Pentagon would hold off on the firings for one week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pentagon delays firing Stars and Stripes staff for a week<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3976,"featured_media":2651660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26139614924216.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[5731,5157,39947,3761,71181],"class_list":["post-2651659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-employment","tag-journalism","tag-military-policy","tag-pentagon","tag-stars-and-stripes"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26139614924216.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2651659"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2651663,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651659\/revisions\/2651663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2651660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2651659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2651659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2651659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}