Fired Stars & Stripes Staffers Sue the Pentagon

Three Stars and Stripes staffers — publisher Max Lederer, editor in chief Erik Slavin and reporter Lara Korte — sued the Defense Department on Thursday in federal district court in Washington, arguing that their firings last week for “insubordination” were retaliatory, illegal under federal administrative law and a violation of their First Amendment rights. 

They asked a judge to halt the dismissals.

The Pentagon official Andrew Brey had emailed Lederer last week and directed him to fire Slavin and Korte after they participated in a CBS News interview. Lederer refused and instead submitted retirement plans. All three were fired on Friday, with the dismissals set to take effect after five business days. Lederer later confirmed he was fired for refusing to carry out the order.

In the CBS Sunday Morning interview, Korte said she worked for Stars and Stripes, not the Pentagon. Slavin said any hypothetical censorship of the military newspaper would cross a red line.

The firings marked the sharpest escalation yet in a months-long clash between the Pentagon and the storied publication, which has long operated with editorial independence from military and civilian leaders. Starting in January, a senior Pentagon official labeled the paper “woke,” imposed new editorial restrictions and a “warfighting” focus, canceled contracts with news services and fired the ombudsman, a role Congress created to protect the paper’s independence.

The Pentagon already faces two other First Amendment lawsuits over its actions at Stars and Stripes: one from former ombudsman Jacqueline Smith over her firing, and another from two board members challenging the March restrictions as illegal censorship.