Gibson Dunn Scores Decisive Win for New York Times in Challenge to Constitutionality of New Pentagon Press Policy
Firm News | March 25, 2026
A Gibson Dunn team led by partner Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. scored a decisive win for The New York Times in its challenge of the constitutionality of the Trump administration’s new Pentagon press policy governing the issuance, denial, and revocation of press credentials at the Pentagon.
The policy gave Department of Defense officials unfettered discretion to revoke or deny a reporter’s press credential if they determined that the reporter posed a “safety or security risk,” expressly allowing that determination to be based on the reporter’s newsgathering or reporting of Department-related information that was not officially approved for publication.
In its decision, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia granted the motion for summary judgment filed by The Times and its reporter Julian Barnes, holding that the Department’s policy violated the First and Fifth Amendments. The Court vacated the policy’s unconstitutional provisions and entered an injunction requiring the Department to immediately reinstate Times reporters’ credentials.
The decision, said Ted Boutrous, “is a powerful rejection of the Pentagon’s effort to impede freedom of the press and the reporting of vital information to the American people during a time of war. As the court recognized, those provisions violate not only the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause, but also the founding principle that the nation’s security depends upon a free press. The district court’s opinion is not just a win for The Times, Mr. Barnes, and other journalists, but most importantly, for the American people who benefit from their coverage of the Pentagon.”
The winning Gibson Dunn team included partners Katie Townsend and Lee Crain, of counsel Susan Pelletier, and associates Zachary Freund, Eric Brooks, Chase Weidner, Tamara Skinner, Raleigh Cavero, and Apratim Vidyarthi.