“The curtailment of First Amendment rights is dangerous at any time, and even more so in a time of war. Suppression of political speech is the mark of an autocracy, not a democracy. The Department cannot simply reinstate an unlawful policy under the guise of taking 'new' action and expect the court to look the other way. The attempt by the Secretary of Defense to dictate the information received by the American people, to control the message so that the public hears and sees only what the Secretary and the Trump Administration want them to hear and see — the Constitution demands better. The American public demands better, too.
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PF
U.S. District Judge
Senior United States District Judge for the District of Columbia. Appointed by President Clinton in 1994. Presided over New York Times v. Department of Defense (2026).