FILE PHOTO: The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

By Helen Coster

NEW YORK, Dec 4 (Reuters) - The New York Times sued the U.S. Department of Defense and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Thursday in an effort to force the Pentagon to abandon its restrictive new press policy, the latest attempt by a U.S. news organization to reclaim access to government spaces.

The press policy, enacted last month, requires journalists to acknowledge that they could be branded security risks and have their Pentagon press badges revoked if they ask department employees to disclose classified and some types of unclassified information.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also names chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell. In a statement, Parnell said: “We are aware of the New York Times lawsuit and look forward to addressing these arguments in court.”

At least 30 news organizations, including Fox News, the Washington Post and Reuters, chose to give up their press badges rather than sign the new policy, citing a threat to press freedoms and their ability to conduct independent newsgathering on the world's most powerful military.

TIMES SAYS POLICY VIOLATES RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH

In its complaint, the Times alleges that the policy violates the rights to free speech and due process and that, if allowed to stand, will "deprive the public of vital information about the United States military and its leadership".

"The policy is an attempt to exert control over reporting the government dislikes, in violation of a free press' right to seek information under their First and Fifth Amendment rights protected by the Constitution," New York Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said in a statement.

New York Times reporter Julian Barnes is a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Representatives for the Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The policy enacted under Hegseth states that receiving or publishing sensitive information "is generally protected by the First Amendment" but adds that soliciting the disclosure of such information "may weigh in the consideration of whether you pose a security or safety risk".

Credentialed reporters have traditionally been limited to unclassified spaces in the Pentagon and have worked across the hallway from the Pentagon press office, which has allowed them access to department spokespeople. Press badges signify that they have gone through a background check.

NEW PRESS CORPS ASSEMBLING AT PENTAGON

Since the exodus of traditional media outlets last month, the Pentagon has assembled a new press corps consisting largely of pro-Trump outlets and individuals.

They include activist Laura Loomer; LindellTV, a digital news site run by election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell; and James O’Keefe, who founded the right-wing group Project Veritas and now runs O’Keefe Media Group.

On Tuesday the Pentagon hosted its first news briefing for the group, during which Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson took aim at the traditional press corps.

"The American people don't trust these propagandists because they stopped telling the truth," Wilson told attendees.

The New York Times' action follows a February lawsuit by the Associated Press, which sued three senior Trump aides after the White House limited the AP’s access to press gatherings.

It did so in response to the AP’s decision to continue using the Gulf of Mexico’s established name, while acknowledging Trump's executive order renaming it the Gulf of America.

The AP alleges that the restrictions are an attempt to coerce the press into using the administration's preferred language in violation of constitutional protections for both free speech and due process.

In his April ruling, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden said the AP was entitled to a preliminary injunction in its favor, but the D.C. Circuit in June paused that injunction while it considered the Trump administration's appeal.

(Reporting by Helen Coster; editing by Paul Thomasch and Gareth Jones)