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DOJ Disputes Retaliation Claims in Stars and Stripes Proposed Firings, Citing Timeline of Pentagon Actions

  • Writer: The First Lady of Journalism
    The First Lady of Journalism
  • 5 days ago
  • 4 min read


WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is pushing back against claims that the Pentagon moved to fire three Stars and Stripes employees in retaliation for reporting about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, arguing that the timeline of events shows the disciplinary process began before the report was published. (Law & Crime)

The dispute is part of a federal lawsuit brought by Stars and Stripes editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, publisher Max Lederer and reporter Lara Korte against the Defense Department and senior Pentagon officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his chief public affairs spokesman, Sean Parnell.

The plaintiffs are asking a federal judge to stop the proposed separations, arguing that the actions violate their First Amendment rights and threaten the editorial independence of the military newspaper. (Stars and Stripes)

The USS Abraham Lincoln report

The dispute intensified after Stars and Stripes published an Aug. 11 report examining concerns among sailors and family members about the USS Abraham Lincoln's lengthy deployment.

The report described concerns about exhaustion, declining morale and mental health among members of the roughly 5,000-person crew and Marine contingent. Family members also raised concerns directly with Navy officials at town-hall meetings in San Diego. (Stars and Stripes)

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs believe the report was a major factor in the Pentagon's subsequent actions against the newspaper's leadership.

The complaint alleges that the day after the article was published, officials ordered Lederer to deliver separation notices to Slavin and Korte. Lederer ultimately retired rather than deliver the notices, according to the lawsuit. (Law & Crime)

The plaintiffs argue that the timing supports their claim that the Pentagon retaliated against the newspaper over unfavorable reporting.

DOJ points to a different timeline

The Justice Department disputes that interpretation.

In its response opposing the journalists' request for a preliminary injunction, the government argued that the disciplinary process was already underway before the USS Lincoln story appeared.

According to the DOJ, the proposed separation notices were completed five days before the Aug. 11 report was published, while the underlying decisions reportedly dated back even further.

The government also pointed to a July appearance by Slavin and Korte on CBS News' Sunday Morning. During that segment, the journalists discussed the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes and their relationship with the Pentagon. (Law & Crime)

The DOJ says the employees are being disciplined for statements made during that television appearance, rather than for the later USS Lincoln reporting.

The government also noted that the USS Lincoln article was written by another reporter and argued that there is no evidence connecting Korte to that article.

A fight over press freedom

At the center of the case is a larger question over the independence of Stars and Stripes, a military newspaper that has served members of the armed forces and their families for generations.

The plaintiffs argue that Pentagon officials have attempted to exercise greater control over the publication.

Their lawsuit specifically names Sean Parnell, Hegseth's chief public affairs spokesman, and challenges actions taken by the Defense Department involving the newspaper's governing regulations. (Stars and Stripes)

The Pentagon and DOJ, however, characterize the personnel actions differently. The government maintains that the case concerns discipline for statements made in an employee's official capacity and not punishment for future reporting.

The DOJ also argued that the journalists remain on paid administrative leave while the separation process is being reviewed and that they have continued speaking publicly about the dispute. (Law & Crime)

Why the timeline matters

The timing of the events could become important as the court considers the First Amendment claims.

The journalists' position is that the USS Lincoln investigation helped trigger the Pentagon's actions. The government's position is that the chronology makes that explanation unlikely because the disciplinary process was already underway before the article was published.

That leaves the court with competing accounts of both why the employees were targeted and how much the USS Lincoln reporting factored into the decisions.

The case is ongoing, and the court has not made a final determination that either side's account is correct. The lawsuit, filed Aug. 27 in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeks injunctive and other relief. (Clearinghouse)

Meanwhile, the USS Abraham Lincoln has completed its lengthy deployment and reached port in Thailand on Sept. 2, according to reporting cited in the dispute. (Law & Crime)

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