Who is in charge here?

The Secretary of Defense, who prefers to be called the Secretary of War, has continued to show his disdain for the federal courts (and the press), at least at the trial court level (U.S. District Court). Here’s the latest response from U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in DC about Pete Hegseth’s continued efforts to control who gets access to the Pentagon’s hallways: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.287334/gov.uscourts.dcd.287334.55.0_2.pdf

Friedman essentially said the Pentagon is still failing to comply with the First Amendment by restricting press access. Friedman’s ruling suggests that his patience is waning. The case was brought by The New York Times. Other media orgs seemed to stand on the sidelines but stand to benefit if the Times prevails as it has so far.