The newspaper sued the U.S. Department of Defense in December over new rules that forced journalists to sign a form outlining rules for journalistic activities in order to report from inside the Pentagon.
Reporters from several major media outlets, including The New York Times, The Associated Press and Fox News, returned their Pentagon credentials when the new rules were adopted.
According to Judge Paul Friedman, the rules were written to weed out “undesirable journalists” and replace them with less critical ones. Friedman ordered the Pentagon to return the credentials of the seven New York Times reporters, but said the decision applies to “all parties involved.” The Pentagon was ordered to submit a written report within a week on its compliance with the ruling.
The judge said the rules violate the U.S. Constitution on due process and freedom of expression. He said the rules do not specify what in a journalist's work could lead to the withdrawal of that journalist's accreditation.
"They make it impossible for journalists to know how to do their jobs without losing their accreditation," Friedman wrote in the ruling.
The Pentagon has not yet commented on the ruling. The ruling may be appealed.
