US Justice Department defends Pentagon plan to dismiss Stars and Stripes employees
The US Department of Justice has defended in court the Pentagon’s plan to dismiss three employees of the military publication Stars and Stripes. In the termination notices, officials cited, among other things, alleged insubordination. Publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and reporter Lara Korte sued the US Department of Defense in an effort to block the dismissals, The Hill reports.
Justice Department’s position
The plaintiffs said that the Pentagon is seeking to dismiss them over statements made as private citizens in support of press freedom to cover military operations, as well as over other potential violations of the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
The dispute concerns comments by Slavin and Korte in a July interview with CBS Sunday Morning about the newspaper’s editorial independence. In a filing signed by Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, Justice Department lawyers said those statements are not protected by the First Amendment because they were made within the scope of the Stars and Stripes employees’ official duties.
Grounds and course of the dispute
Termination notices were issued to all three employees on August 21. According to court documents, insubordination and rule violations connected with their statements to CBS were cited as grounds in the cases of Slavin and Korte. Lederer’s notice, among other things, cited his refusal to deliver such notices to the other two employees.
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Lederer announced his retirement on August 19 amid concerns over the publication’s editorial direction under the Donald Trump administration. Justice Department representatives said that delivering or refusing to deliver personnel notices constitutes the performance or nonperformance of a managerial task, rather than speech by a citizen.
The government also rejected claims that the personnel decisions were punishment for critical coverage of conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier. According to the government’s position, the decisions were made several weeks before that article was published. All three employees were placed on administrative leave, and the Pentagon agreed to suspend the dismissals at least until September 4 while the court case proceeds. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday.
Stars and Stripes has operated independently of the US Department of Defense since 1993, although it is partially funded by the Pentagon. The publication’s internal policy provides for freedom from news management or censorship. Separate lawsuits were also filed by the newspaper’s ombudsman and two members of its advisory board, who allege attempts by the administration to undermine the publication’s independence and censor its materials.
