Former Stars and Stripes publisher: Pentagon lawsuit will ‘continue on’ after court setback

Max Lederer, the former longtime publisher of the Stars and Stripes, on Saturday said he and the two other staffers fired by the Pentagon last month will “continue on” in their lawsuit after a federal judge denied their emergency request this week.

Lederer and the paper’s former editor-in-chief, Erik Slavin, and reporter Lara Korte sued the Pentagon last week , alleging the department’s decision to dismiss them from their roles violated its own personnel rules and their First Amendment rights.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden ruled Friday that the employees were not likely to succeed in their claim that these terminations violated their First Amendment rights.

Lederer told MS NOW’s Jacob Soboroff on Saturday morning that this request was only the “first step in the process,” noting that “it’s a really high bar in a preliminary injunction” and that McFadden’s ruling “doesn’t eliminate our basic suit.”

“We are going on with that suit,” he said. “That will continue on, and we’ll have more opportunity to present our case to the judge and argue this very important issue.”

The Pentagon’s leadership under President Trump’s second presidency has attempted to reshape the military outlet’s coverage. Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell said in January that the department would “refocus” the organization’s coverage from “woke distractions that syphon morale.”

While the paper is staffed by members of the Defense Department, the Stars and Stripes has historically enjoyed editorial independence from the Pentagon.

In March, the Pentagon issued an eight-page memo that included a requirement for the paper’s content to be “consistent with good order and discipline of the military.”

Two of the organization’s advisory board members sued the department in June, alleging the Pentagon was attempting to “exert unprecedented control” over the paper and sensor its content.

The department also removed the outlet’s ombudsman, Jacqueline Smith, whose job was to monitor the newspaper’s editorial independence. Smith sued the Pentagon in June over this decision.

Prior to his firing, Lederer had announced his retirement and planned to step down from his role overseeing the paper at the end of this month. He told MS NOW on Saturday that he made this decision after declining Pentagon officials’ request to fire two outlet staffers.

“I had gotten to a point where I couldn’t support the direction any longer, and as any good employee of any good organization, your option is to do what you’re asked to do or leave,” Lederer said. “And I chose to leave.”