Politics · Pentagon fires editorsThe Pentagon Fired Its Own Paper's Editors. Now They're Suing.Aired August 31, 2026 at 8:27 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Three fired editors of the Pentagon's own newspaper have sued the Secretary of0:04Defense.0:04It is a case over whether a military newsroom can be punished for defending its0:08independence and whether the paper that covers the chain of command can still stand0:12outside it.0:12The Pentagon says the firings were about what these editors said on TV.0:16Their lawyer says the true trigger may have been a report the Pentagon called fake0:20news.0:20The three plaintiffs are the paper's own top ranks.0:23Slavin runs the newsroom, Cordy covers the Middle East, and lederer is the publisher0:27who refused an order.0:29They have sued Hegseth, the Defense Department's two top public affairs officials,0:33and the department itself in the District of Columbia before Judge Trevor McFadden.0:37The lawsuit names both alleged motives in a single sentence.0:40The three say they were fired for speaking as private citizens in support of press0:44freedom and in retaliation for a story about the Abraham Lincoln.0:53That aired July 5th on CBS Sunday morning, filmed in June in the Washington0:57newsroom, Slavin and Cordy were speaking unofficially with supervisor approval.1:01The Pentagon took no action for more than a month because the remarks were read as1:05personal opinions that matched the department's own independence language.1:09Then came the carrier on August 11th.1:11Stars and Stripes published a report on the USS Abraham Lincoln where families of1:15roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines told Navy leaders that a deployment of more than1:19eight months with very few port calls was driving mental health strain and serious1:23risk.1:24One spouse said her husband messaged that he hopes he does not wake up tomorrow.1:28The paper reported long workdays, limited time off, and family complaints about1:32food, water, mail, and habitability.1:35The president called that coverage fake news.1:37Hegzeth said the reports completely misrepresented conditions.1:40The Navy denied any increase in suicidal ideation while acknowledging at least one1:44overboard incident.1:45The publisher refused to hand over notices for the two journalists.1:48When he asked for clarification, Bray replied, deliver the notices as instructed.1:53Lederer then announced his retirement, and a day later all three were served with1:56notices of separation charging insubordination, with five business days to respond.2:01The Pentagon issued a new newsroom directive the same day.2:04So there are two accounts.2:05The Pentagon's charge centers on the interviews, insubordination.2:09The plaintiffs point to timing.2:11The order to deliver notices came the day after the carrier report, and more than a2:15month after the television remarks the department had once accepted.2:18Counsel say the timing violates the Pentagon's own rules.2:21Army Regulation 215-3 says discipline should be timely initiated, usually within 102:27days of the offense, more than a month passed between the broadcast and the order.2:31The regulation normally requires 30 days advance notice before separation and treats2:35first offense insubordination as a reprimand or a one-day suspension, not removal.2:40And because the paper is a non-appropriated fund instrumentality, its staff fall2:44outside the Civil Service Reform Act, which is why the three say the courts are2:48their only recourse.2:49The Pentagon has declined to comment on the record.2:51Department lawyers argued at the late August hearing that Slavin and Corday were2:55criticizing their employer in an official capacity, a process point, not a ruling on3:00the merits.3:01the account of what was said rests on the plaintiff's complaint and their own3:04statements.3:04Everything now turns on September 4th.3:07That is when Judge McFadden is scheduled to hear the request for a temporary3:11restraining order to block the separations while the case proceeds.3:14Leaderer's retirement is set for the 30th.3:17The deeper question reaches past three careers.3:20Stars and Stripes exists as a paper independent of the chain of command it covers.3:25Built on troops reading coverage that is not written by their own public affairs3:29officers.3:30If the Pentagon can remove its editor-in-chief, its lead military reporter, and the3:34publisher who refused to obey around a deployment story its leadership called fake,3:39then the line between a military newsroom and its public affairs office has been3:43crossed.3:43That is the constitutional question now before a federal judge.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗