Miami (January 21, 2026) - The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) joined 22 other organizations in signing an amicus curiae brief, filed on January 15 by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, in support of The New York Times’ lawsuit challenging the Pentagon’s press access policy.
The brief urges the federal district court in Washington, D.C., to rule in favor of the newspaper and to reject the Pentagon’s new rules, which went into effect in October.
The New York Times’ lawsuit alleges that the Pentagon’s policy violates the First and Fifth Amendments because it grants government officials “unbridled discretion” to deny, suspend, or revoke a journalist’s press credentials for engaging in lawful newsgathering, including asking sources questions.
Among other arguments, the brief maintains that journalists cannot accept a policy that gives the Pentagon standardless discretion to punish reporters for asking questions.
Nearly the entire press corps refused to sign the final policy. For the first time in more than 80 years, journalists from the nation’s leading news organizations turned in their credentials, gathered their belongings, and left the Pentagon.
Read the amicus brief.