Judge weighs bid to block policy limiting journalists’ access to Pentagon

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon policy limiting journalists’ access to the building is depriving Americans of vital information about U.S. military operations while the country is at war, a New York Times attorney argued Friday in urging a judge to block the new rules.

“It’s more important than ever for the public to know as much as they can,” Times attorney Theodore Boutrous told U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman during the first hearing for the newspaper’s lawsuit against the Defense Department.

Friedman didn’t immediately rule on whether to order the Pentagon to reinstate press credentials for reporters who walked out of the building last October rather than agree to the new rules. But the judge’s remarks suggested he was skeptical of key arguments in the government’s defense of the policy.

Judge cites need for ‘a variety of views’

Friedman, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Bill Clinton, suggested it is “more important than ever” for Americans to hear “a variety of views” about the activities of the federal government and its elected leaders.

“A lot of things need to be held tightly and secure, but openness and transparency allows members of ...