{"id":146916,"date":"2026-03-23T15:32:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T23:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/03\/23\/hegseth-gets-loomered-in-court\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T15:32:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T23:32:39","slug":"hegseth-gets-loomered-in-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/03\/23\/hegseth-gets-loomered-in-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth Gets Loomered In Court"},"content":{"rendered":"

You don\u2019t want to get on Pete Hegseth\u2019s bad side \u2026 literally. That maniac just booted<\/a> photographers from Pentagon press briefings for failing to capture his manly jaw from a sufficiently flattering angle. But the secretary will<\/em> be seeing a bunch of his old enemies again soon, thanks to a ruling<\/a> on Friday from Judge Paul Friedman in DC.<\/p>\n

The court struck down the Pentagon\u2019s policy excluding reporters who publish \u201cunauthorized\u201d news and ordered the Defense Department to restore passes for seven New York Times reporters who walked out in October rather than agree to it.<\/p>\n

And, as usual, the Trump administration\u2019s constant shitposting provided the evidence of animus that sank them in court.<\/p>\n

Snowflake melts<\/h2>\n

As a weekend host on Fox, Pete Hegseth spent years slinging mud at Democrats. But during his confirmation, he found that being on the receiving end was a lot less fun. He made it through, despite extensive coverage of his drinking, alleged sexual assault, and professional failures, and even survived the publication of his classified Signal messages in a group chat that included the editor of The Atlantic.<\/p>\n

But with so many blabbermouths writing about upheaval in DOD leadership<\/a>, the Pentagon decided it was time to batten down the hatches.<\/p>\n

In February 2025, they evicted<\/a> the New York Times, NBC, Politico, and NPR from their dedicated Pentagon workspaces. Then in September, DOD Spokesman Sean Parnell rolled out a new policy<\/a> for the Pentagon press corps. For decades, journalists with Pentagon Facilities Alternate Credentials (PFACs) got access to press briefings and non-classified areas, where they could chat with officials and develop the connections and background knowledge essential to keep the public informed. Under the new rules, journalists would have to agree not to publish or solicit unauthorized information, essentially promising to be obedient stenographers in exchange for access. And the DOD could revoke credentials for journalists deemed a \u201csecurity or safety risk,\u201d based on a nebulous set of criteria that vested more or less complete discretion in the government.<\/p>\n

On October 15, virtually every reporter walked out rather than surrender their journalistic ethics, including those from Hegseth\u2019s old network Fox, as well as its hillbilly cousin Newsmax.<\/p>\n

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Pentagon reporters could be seen leaving the sprawling U.S. military headquarters with boxes after at least 30 news organizations declined to sign a new Pentagon access policy for journalists, warning of the potential for less coverage of the world’s most powerful military.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Reuters (@reuters.com)<\/a> 2025-10-16T04:30:56.135Z<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Tatooine on the Potomac<\/h2>\n

The following week, Parnell triumphantly announced \u201cthe next generation of the Pentagon press corps,\u201d outlets that \u201ccircumvent the lies of the mainstream media and get real news to the American people,\u201d unlike those \u201cactivists who masquerade as journalists.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Today, the Department of War is announcing the next generation of the Pentagon press corps.<\/p>\n

We are excited to announce over 60 journalists, representing a broad spectrum of new media outlets and independent journalists, have signed the Pentagon\u2019s media access policy and will be\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) October 22, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

At a December 2 briefing, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson crowed that \u201cthe legacy media chose to self-deport.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerican people don\u2019t trust these propagandists because they stopped telling the truth,\u201d she smirked.<\/p>\n

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The \u201cnext generation\u201d includes such luminaries as Laura Loomer, a virulent racist who rose to fame by handcuffing herself to the doors of the headquarters at Twitter and is currently suing comedian Bill Maher for implying that she slept with Trump, making her too toxic for a government job. She\u2019s joined by Mike Lindell, the pillow-puffing election fraud aficionado currently running for governor in Minnesota, as well as James O\u2019Keefe, founder of Project Veritas, and beanie-ed podcaster Tim Pool.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes the Department of War plan on pursuing any legal action against the Washington Post?\u201d wondered one such intrepid journalist at the initial presser. \u201cAnd what consequences will there be for lying to the American people?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Washington Post, I think, readership should think twice before reading that outlet again,\u201d Wilson agreed. \u201cIt is disgraceful that they call themselves journalists and we told them as such, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Big mouth meets bigger Constitution<\/h2>\n

Two days later, the New York Times sued<\/a>, citing violations of the First and Fifth Amendments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Policy fails to provide fair notice to Plaintiffs and other journalists and news organizations of what, in the Department\u2019s \u2018unbridled discretion,\u2019 will (or will not) be deemed improper newsgathering or reporting that warrants the immediate suspension and eventual revocation of a PFAC,\u201d they argued. \u201cAnd its incurably vague language and lack of standards invite arbitrary as well as content- and viewpoint-based determinations as to which reporters and news organizations will be granted or denied access to the Pentagon and for what reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parnell and Wilson\u2019s sneering featured prominently as evidence of viewpoint retaliation. And the patrons of the Star Wars bar prove that the \u201cdiscretionary\u201d policy is \u201cbased on favored and disfavored content and speakers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exhibit A: Laura Loomer<\/em>. The day her credential came through, she posted that she\u2019d \u201cdeveloped a Rolodex of sources\u201d and invited followers to submit tips to \u201cthe most influential Tip Line in all of DC.\u201d Asked why Loomer\u2019s tipline was acceptable when the Washington Post\u2019s was not, Wilson replied that \u201cUnlike [the Post\u2019s] solicitation, which explicitly and exclusively targets military personnel and DoW employees, Laura Loomer\u2019s X post regarding tips to her news outlet is a general tip line, which is constitutionally permissible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Fake News reporters actually had a brain and could read our policy correctly, then maybe one day they will be as effective of a journalist as Ms. Loomer is,\u201d she sniped.<\/p>\n

The complaint noted that O\u2019Keefe\u2019s entire career revolves around secretly recording officials, and in 2010 he pled guilty<\/a> to unlawfully entering a sitting senator\u2019s office disguised as a repairman with the aim of planting a bug. For his part, Tim Pool was apparently too stupid<\/a> to realize he was being paid by a Russian cutout to spout Kremlin-friendly propaganda. But they were apparently fine<\/em> to wander the halls of the Pentagon without a minder, unlike the prior crew, who were deemed to be a \u201csafety and security risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because none of the factual claims was seriously contested, the parties moved directly to summary judgment. At oral argument on March 6, the government\u2019s own lawyer called the policy \u201cmore subjective,\u201d a damning admission the DOJ tried to walk back a week later in a Notice of Clarification<\/a>. The standards are, too<\/em>, \u201cguided by enumerated, objective factors,\u201d they insisted, it\u2019s only the imposition of judgment which is subjective. Also, when they said at oral argument that asking a question was \u201csoliciting a criminal act,\u201d what they meant<\/em> was yes, it totally is,<\/em> and you can establish mens rea<\/em> \u201cfor example by offering anonymity and privacy protection to the source in exchange for the information.\u201d (Any questions should be directed to the \u201csenior pentagon official\u201d who speaks to every reporter in DC when snark from a 27-year-old internet troll<\/a> won\u2019t cut it.)<\/p>\n

Of course, if you have to issue multiple codicils to your policy, you\u2019re probably losing on the issue of vagueness. Or, as Judge Friedman put it \u201cneither counsel\u2019s statement at argument nor the subsequent \u2018clarification\u2019 makes much of a difference to the Court\u2019s analysis because neither changes what the Policy actually says.\u201d<\/p>\n

The court granted summary judgment<\/a> to the plaintiffs on their constitutional claims, vacated the challenged provisions of the policy, and ordered the Pentagon to reinstate the Times reporters\u2019 credentials.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo state the obvious, obtaining and attempting to obtain information is what journalists do,\u201d the court wrote. \u201cUnder the Policy\u2019s terms, then, essential journalistic practices that the plaintiffs and others engage in every day\u2014such as asking questions of Department employees\u2014could trigger a determination by the Department that a journalist poses a security or safety risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for viewpoint discrimination, Judge Friedman simply included a linkroll of Parnell, Wilson, and Hegseth slagging mainstream reporters as \u201cscum\u201d and praising media who are \u201con board and willing to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is viewpoint discrimination, full stop,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

Just in time for a shooting war<\/h2>\n

Calling the constitutional violations \u201cextremely serious,\u201d Judge Friedman declined to send the policy back to DOD to take another swing at it. Instead he vacated the offending provisions entirely, ordering the Pentagon to reinstate the credentials of the seven Times reporters named in the lawsuit. Presumably the rest of the \u201cscum\u201d will return, too, edging out the Tim Pools, who said from the jump that they weren\u2019t going to be spending much time there because their job is hanging out and shooting the shit, not journalism.<\/p>\n

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Timcast Media plans to have our White House correspondent Elaad Eliahu attend briefings when feasible to ask policy-related questions and gather insights on Pentagon operations.<\/p>\n

We aim to conduct podcast interviews whenever possible but do not intend to maintain a significant\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/Szv0Y94vXl<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tim Pool (@Timcast) October 22, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Secretary Glass Jaw has vowed to appeal. But for now at least, the real journalists are back at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n

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Liz Dye<\/a>\u00a0produces the Law and Chaos\u00a0Substack\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0You can subscribe by clicking the logo:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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The post Hegseth Gets Loomered In Court<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Photo by Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You don\u2019t want to get on Pete Hegseth\u2019s bad side \u2026 literally. That maniac just booted<\/a> photographers from Pentagon press briefings for failing to capture his manly jaw from a sufficiently flattering angle. But the secretary will<\/em> be seeing a bunch of his old enemies again soon, thanks to a ruling<\/a> on Friday from Judge Paul Friedman in DC.<\/p>\n

The court struck down the Pentagon\u2019s policy excluding reporters who publish \u201cunauthorized\u201d news and ordered the Defense Department to restore passes for seven New York Times reporters who walked out in October rather than agree to it.<\/p>\n

And, as usual, the Trump administration\u2019s constant shitposting provided the evidence of animus that sank them in court.<\/p>\n

As a weekend host on Fox, Pete Hegseth spent years slinging mud at Democrats. But during his confirmation, he found that being on the receiving end was a lot less fun. He made it through, despite extensive coverage of his drinking, alleged sexual assault, and professional failures, and even survived the publication of his classified Signal messages in a group chat that included the editor of The Atlantic.<\/p>\n

But with so many blabbermouths writing about upheaval in DOD leadership<\/a>, the Pentagon decided it was time to batten down the hatches.<\/p>\n

In February 2025, they evicted<\/a> the New York Times, NBC, Politico, and NPR from their dedicated Pentagon workspaces. Then in September, DOD Spokesman Sean Parnell rolled out a new policy<\/a> for the Pentagon press corps. For decades, journalists with Pentagon Facilities Alternate Credentials (PFACs) got access to press briefings and non-classified areas, where they could chat with officials and develop the connections and background knowledge essential to keep the public informed. Under the new rules, journalists would have to agree not to publish or solicit unauthorized information, essentially promising to be obedient stenographers in exchange for access. And the DOD could revoke credentials for journalists deemed a \u201csecurity or safety risk,\u201d based on a nebulous set of criteria that vested more or less complete discretion in the government.<\/p>\n

On October 15, virtually every reporter walked out rather than surrender their journalistic ethics, including those from Hegseth\u2019s old network Fox, as well as its hillbilly cousin Newsmax.<\/p>\n

The following week, Parnell triumphantly announced \u201cthe next generation of the Pentagon press corps,\u201d outlets that \u201ccircumvent the lies of the mainstream media and get real news to the American people,\u201d unlike those \u201cactivists who masquerade as journalists.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a December 2 briefing, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson crowed that \u201cthe legacy media chose to self-deport.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerican people don\u2019t trust these propagandists because they stopped telling the truth,\u201d she smirked.<\/p>\n