Story perspectives

Judge Denies Injunction, Pentagon Can Fire 3 Journalists

9/8/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden denied a preliminary injunction, allowing the Pentagon to fire three Stars and Stripes journalists.
Pentagon officials ordered publisher Max Lederer to fire Erik Slavin and Lara Korte after the USS Abraham Lincoln report.
Pentagon cited an unauthorized July CBS Sunday Morning interview by Slavin and Korte as insubordination.
The three journalists said they will keep fighting, stressing press-freedom concerns for servicemembers and families.

History

Historical Context

In June 1971 the Supreme Court ruled in New York Times Co. v. United States that the Nixon administration could not impose prior restraint on the Pentagon Papers, a 7,000-page study leaked by Daniel Ellsberg. Judge Trevor McFadden's denial of a Pentagon injunction against Stars and Stripes reporters Max Lederer, Erik Slavin and Lara Korte shows the same press-freedom clash today.

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Story summary

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden denied a preliminary injunction, allowing the Pentagon to fire three Stars and Stripes journalists.
Pentagon officials ordered publisher Max Lederer to fire Erik Slavin and Lara Korte after the USS Abraham Lincoln report.
Pentagon cited an unauthorized July CBS Sunday Morning interview by Slavin and Korte as insubordination.
The three journalists said they will keep fighting, stressing press-freedom concerns for servicemembers and families.

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