Three former journalists from Stars and Stripes filed a lawsuit against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and two other Pentagon officials in federal court on Thursday. The plaintiffs, publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and reporter Lara Korte, claim their terminations were illegal and part of the Trump administration's censorship efforts against the military news outlet. The journalists received separation notices last week, citing insubordination as the reason for their dismissal.
The lawsuit alleges that the firings were a result of their support for press freedom and their reporting on conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier. The lawsuit names Hegseth, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, and aide Andrew Brey as defendants. Slavin and Korte stated that the insubordination referenced in their termination notices stemmed from interviews they conducted with CBS News for a segment that aired in July. In that segment, Korte emphasized that she worked for Stars and Stripes and not for the Pentagon or any administration.
Following the publication of an article detailing mental health issues and shortages of food and water aboard the Lincoln, the lawsuit claims that the defendants ordered Lederer to issue separation notices to Slavin and Korte. Lederer did not deliver the notices and announced his intention to retire at the end of September due to fundamental differences with the Defense Department, but was subsequently fired.
The complaint states that the plaintiffs are facing retaliation and termination in violation of their First Amendment rights. The lawsuit seeks to address what it describes as a violation of the journalists' rights and challenges the Department of Defense's censorship efforts. CBS News has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
Stars and Stripes, first published during the Civil War, has emphasized its editorial independence, asserting that the federal government does not control its content. Approximately half of the newspaper's $29 million annual budget is funded by taxpayers, with an average daily readership of 1.4 million. Earlier this year, Parnell announced plans to modernize the paper's operations and refocus its content. Following the firings, Stars and Stripes published an open letter from Navy Capt. William Urban, who stated his commitment to maintaining editorial independence while modernizing the publication and increasing advertising revenue.