<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/pentagon/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pentagon</a> has agreed to pause the immediate firings of three <em>Stars and Stripes</em> employees for one week after the fired reporters and editors sought a temporary restraining order to halt their removal.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">U.S. District Judge for the <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/washington-dc/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">District of Columbia</a> Trevor Neil McFadden, a Trump appointee, stated during a court hearing on Friday that the Pentagon agreed to grant a delay on the firing until September 4, according to a <em>Politico</em> <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/28/stars-and-stripes-journalists-facing-firing-get-one-week-reprieve-01055447" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">report</a> confirmed to the <em>Washington Examiner</em> by Democracy Defenders Fund, which represents the plaintiffs. The agreement followed discussions between attorneys for the <em>Stars and Stripes</em> employees and <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/department-of-justice/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Justice Department</a> lawyers regarding the justification for a temporary restraining order.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>Stars and Stripes</em> Publisher Max Lederer, Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin, and reporter Lara Korte <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense/4703465/stars-and-stripes-lawsuit-pentagon-firings-insubordination/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">filed a lawsuit</a> against the Pentagon on Thursday over their termination from the congressionally-funded news outlet. The employees of the editorially-independent outlet under the <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/department-of-defense/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Department of War</a> argued that their terminations, made on the grounds of “insubordination,” violated the First Amendment.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Slavin and Korte stated they were fired for expressing that <em>Stars and Stripes</em> should remain independent from the War Department and any political influence, while Lederer refused to terminate the two employees when Pentagon officials instructed him to do so.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">When a <em>CBS Sunday Morning</em> reporter asked Slavin in an early July segment about any “red lines” he has regarding following Pentagon orders versus following the freedom of the press, Slavin responded, “Don’t run a perfectly accurate story, run this instead. Here it is, written by the Pentagon. That would be a red line.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I’m working for <em>Stars and Stripes</em>, not for the Pentagon, not for any administration, not for any policymaker. I’m here to cover the military community,” Korte also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYkhH8DMoCI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">told</a> CBS News in the segment central to the lawsuit.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Pentagon had placed Korte, Slavin, and Lederer on administrative leave. The employees’ lawyers had requested the court in the temporary restraining order to keep the three journalists on administrative leave and delay the termination, <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.295983/gov.uscourts.dcd.295983.2.1_3.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">calling</a> the request “limited, unobtrusive, and sought to prevent further retaliatory actions that will irreparably chill the exercise of First Amendment rights.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">However, Pentagon lawyers initially contended that a temporary restraining order would be unjustified.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“In any event, if Plaintiffs prevail on the merits, they can be reinstated. Thus, any temporary deprivation of First Amendment rights (there is none) is outweighed by the government’s interests in maintaining troop loyalty, discipline, and morale,” DOJ lawyer Brett Covington <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.295983/gov.uscourts.dcd.295983.12.0.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">wrote</a> in a court filing on Friday.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">After McFadden requested more time to consider the circumstances of the case, informing the courtroom, “I’ve only known about this for a couple hours,” according to <em>Politico</em>, the court took a recess, and McFadden then announced that the Pentagon would delay the firings for one week.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The <em>Washington Examiner</em> has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.</p>