Hegseth's Legal Nightmare: Lawsuit Filed Over Pete's Restrictions After Embattled Defense Sec. Declared Journalists Would Be 'Escorted' While on Pentagon Grounds

The New York Times has fired off an angry lawsuit against Pete Hegseth and the Department of Defense, RadarOnline.com can reveal, arguing that a rule that greatly restricts reporters' access to Pentagon meetings and officials violates the First Amendment.

But Defense Department officials have already fired back, brushing aside the lawsuit as "nothing more than an attempt to remove the barriers to them getting their hands on classified information."

This is the second time the newspaper has sued the Pentagon in the last five months, this time arguing that a requirement for journalists be escorted while on the building's grounds is illegal.

A Times spokesman contends the policy is "an unconstitutional attempt by the Pentagon to prevent independent reporting on military affairs.

"As we have said before: Americans deserve visibility into how their government is being run, and the actions the military is taking in their name and with their tax dollars."

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell countered, "The Department's policy is completely lawful and narrowly designed to protect national security information from unlawful criminal disclosure."

The Times first sued the Pentagon in December, after Hegseth announced his department would credential journalists only if they agreed to publish information "approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official." Hegseth also announced he would force staffers to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and take random polygraph tests to prevent press leaks.

A draft memo from Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, reviewed by the Washington Post, reportedly stated the NDAs "prohibit the release of non-public information without approval or through a defined process."

First Amendment advocates immediately decried the move as an unconstitutional infringement on the media’s right to cover the department, and in March, a federal judge agreed, ruling that the new press policy violated the First and Fifth Amendments.

Parnell, who is directly named in the lawsuit, released a "revised policy," proclaiming that "all journalist access to the Pentagon will require escort by authorized Department personnel."

Insiders said Hegseth's attempt to silence press leaks from the Pentagon has only motivated staffers to share more information and personal thoughts on the chaos brewing inside the department with the media.

One Defense Department insider reportedly branded Hegseth's plan to whip the department into shape "idiotic."

The source added: "It is clearly an attempt at intimidating everybody to just fall in line and support Trump, and this stuff only works if you let it get to you."

Hegseth seems to have a personal vendetta against the media, especially after what his team called "unflattering" pics of the fiery defense secretary hit headlines. The department has since banned press photographers from briefings on the war with Iran.

"In order to use space in the Pentagon Briefing Room effectively, we are allowing one representative per news outlet if uncredentialed, excluding pool," Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement earlier this year.

Wilson added, "Photographs from the briefings are immediately released online for the public and press to use. If that hurts the business model for certain news outlets, then they should consider applying for a Pentagon press credential."

It has not been confirmed whether a specific photo triggered the staff's rage. Only the department's staff photographers are now allowed into the briefings.

In response to the Pentagon's decision, the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) hit back hard, with president Alex Garcia blasting, "A free press cannot function if government officials decide that only favorable images of public officials may be created or distributed."