Fired 'Stars and Stripes' Journalists Sue Pentagon, Seeking to Block Their Terminations 27AUG26

Lt. Col. Sean P. Klimek, commander Stars and Stripes Europe and Expeditionary, Office of Secretary of Defense, Kaiserslautern, Germany, Max D. Lederer, jr., Publisher Stars and Stripes and Lt. Col. Richard E. McClintic, Commander of Stars and Stripes Pacific headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, pose for a group photo with Public Affairs personnel from U.S. Army Central

 NOT fired for publishing actual military secrets that would put American military members and the nation at risk, no, these people were fired for doing their job and reporting truth and facts much to the chagrin of neo-nazi fascist fotze trunt petie lola hegseth and that no class neo-nazi fascist drippings ( meaning the best of him, it there actually was any, ran down something's leg ) c-i-c bone spurs NOT MY pres drumpf/trump. It is a very sad commentary on the lack of commitment to defending the US Constitution, especially the First Amendment by the drumpf/trump-vance administration, their ass licking cabinet and the gop / greed over people-republican party. This from Military.com.....

Fired 'Stars and Stripes' Journalists Sue Pentagon, Seeking to Block Their Terminations

"Our goal is to protect the rights of service members and their families to a free and independent press," the plaintiffs said.

Published Aug 27, 2026, 6:23 PM EDT

By Adam Gramegna

Three Stars and Stripes journalists fired by the Pentagon last week have sued the Department of Defense, seeking to block their terminations.

Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin, Middle East reporter Lara Korte, and publisher Max Lederer filed the 45-page lawsuit Thursday in Washington. Among the defendants named were the Defense Department, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and two of the department's public affairs officials, according to their now former employer.

The suit asks the court to halt the terminations as unlawful, arguing they amounted to retaliation over unflattering coverage of a Navy deployment as part of a broader attempt to censor the press. The three plaintiffs are represented by Democracy Defenders Fund, Lawyers for Good Government, Government Accountability Project and the Yale School Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic

"Our goal is to protect the rights of service members and their families to a free and independent press," the three journalists said in a joint statement provided to Military.com. "This lawsuit is about safeguarding that mission and ensuring our civilian and military journalists can do their jobs without retaliation."

Colonel Christopher M. Coglianese, facing left, deputy chief of staff, U.S. Army Central (Forward), meets with Max D. Lederer Jr., center, publisher, Stars and Stripes

Credit: U.S. Army Reserve photo by Staff Sgt. Justin Hardin

The three were issued separation notices last Friday, each charged with insubordination. Stars and Stripes is owned by the Defense Department and its employees are federal workers, but the paper operates as an editorially independent news organization. It has been in continuous circulation since World War II.

Military.com asked the Defense Department whether it intends to contest the lawsuit and about the status of the employees' appeals. No response was received by press time.

The Firings

Separation notices for Slavin and Korte cited a CBS News interview in which each defended the First Amendment principles behind their work and said censorship of news for service members would be a red line.

Slavin joined the publication in 2005 and became its top editor in September 2025. Korte began reporting for the paper in 2024.

Lederer, who spent 30 years with Stars and Stripes and had announced his retirement days before the firings, was terminated because he refused a request from Pentagon leadership to fire Slavin and Korte, according to the lawsuit.

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) sails in the Arabian Sea, May 29, 2026

Credit: [null Courtesy], Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

He was also cited for insubordination over comments he made in his resignation.

Attorneys for Slavin and Korte claim they are being fired merely for saying on the CBS Sunday Morning TV show that Stars and Stripes should remain independent of Pentagon and political influence.

“The Pentagon is trying to punish journalists for defending the established mission of Stars and Stripes,” said Taryn Wilgus Null, senior counsel at Democracy Defenders Fund, in a statement provided to Military.com. “We are asking the court to stop these unconstitutional terminations. Service members and their families need reporting that is independent of the officials it covers and is unafraid to criticize them when they deserve it.”

Lederer had said he was stepping down because his understanding of the mission of Stars and Stripes differed in "fundamental ways" from the direction the Defense Department had set for the paper. He was scheduled to leave Sept. 30.

A Warning Over the USS Abraham Lincoln

The firings are tied directly to the newspaper's reporting, per the complaint.

The demand that Lederer fire Slavin and Korte came the day after Stars and Stripes published an article on deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, according to the suit.

That news coverage described an aircraft carrier that had been deployed for a historic 270 days without a port call, as part of the ongoing war with Iran that will mark the six-month mark of the conflict on Friday.

“These retaliatory firings at Stars and Stripes are precisely why these First Amendment protections matter," Amy Powell, litigation director, Lawyers for Good Government, said in a statement shared with Military.com. "The government cannot preserve an independent press while punishing the people who insist that its independence is paramount to a functioning democracy.

"We are proud to stand with these employees in defending their rights and the principle that government officials cannot use their power over federal workers to silence protected speech.”​​​​​​​

The dispute over the paper's independence predates the firings. In March, the Pentagon outlined an overhaul of Stars and Stripes that barred it from using some newswire services and running comics and other syndicated features.

They required that its content be consistent with "good order and discipline," a phrase drawn from the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Its ombudsman, whose role Congress created to protect its editorial independence, was fired in April.

This week's lawsuit is separate from a suit filed in June by two members of the paper's advisory board, who alleged the Pentagon's overhaul violated federal law. That case remains pending.

VIDEO, PICTURES AND ARTICLE: Magyar celebrates as Orbán’s 16-year rule ends - as it happened & Orban, Beacon to the Right, Concedes Defeat in Hungary’s Election 12APR26

 

Peter Magyar, the leader of the opposition Tisza party, waves a national flag after a parliamentary election in Budapest, Hungary.

Photograph: Darko Bandić/AP

CONGRATULATIONS HUNGARY!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS PETER MAGYAR!!!!! And well done Victor Orban for allowing a free and fair election to take place and for a peaceful transfer of power. There is a powerful lesson here for America and our upcoming 2026 Midterm Elections. GOD BLESS HUNGARY!!! From The Guardian and the New York Times.....

 Magyar celebrates as Orbán’s 16-year rule ends - as it happened

Crowds on the Budapest metro on their way to Tisza's victory party

Photograph: Jakub Krupa/The Guardian

People celebrate across the River Danube from the parliament building, following the partial results of the parliamentary election, in Budapest, Hungary.

Photograph: Lisi Niesner/Reuters

Supporters of Péter Magyar, leader of the opposition Tisza party, celebrate, after Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán conceded defeat in the parliamentary election, in Budapest, Hungary.

Photograph: Leonhard Föger/Reuters

Revellers celebrate the resounding Tisza party win in Hungarian parliamentary elections in Budapest, Hungary.

Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

A man waves a Hungarian flag as he celebrates in the streets after the announcement of partial results of the Hungarian parliamentary election in Budapest, Hungary.

Photograph: Dénes Erdős/AP

A firework being ignited during celebrations in Budapest on Sunday.Credit...Lisi Niesner/Reuters

Peter Magyar, leader of the opposition Tisza party, in Budapest following the partial results of the parliamentary election on Sunday.Credit...Marton Monus/Reuters

Voter turnout was reported to be very strong. A polling station in Budapest on Sunday.Credit...Janos Kummer/Getty Images

Hungarians reacting to the announcement of partial election results in Budapest on Sunday.Credit...Denes Erdos/Associated Press

Orban, Beacon to the Right, Concedes Defeat in Hungary’s Election

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has inspired populist movements globally, could not overcome the growing dissatisfaction of his own citizens.

By Andrew Higgins and Lili Rutai

Reporting from Budapest

April 12, 2026

Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, a lodestar for MAGA culture warriors and right-wing populists in Europe, conceded defeat on Sunday in a general election, breaking the momentum of a global nationalist revival promoted by President Trump.

In a surprisingly early and gracious concession speech in Budapest, Mr. Orban congratulated the opposition saying, “The responsibility and opportunity to govern were not given to us.” But, he also made a vow: “We are not giving up. Never, never, never.”

His defeat paves the way for Peter Magyar, a former Orban loyalist and the leader of the main opposition party, to take over as Hungary’s prime minister once the newly elected Parliament meets.

“We have done it,” Mr. Magyar told a cheering crowd gathered with flags on the bank of the River Danube. “We have liberated Hungary and have taken back our country.”

Sunday’s vote was widely seen as showdown between friends and foes of liberal democracy, a cause that Mr. Orban has battled against for years to applause from his fans in the United States, Europe and Latin America. The race was closely watched by the Trump administration and the Kremlin, both of which wanted Mr. Orban to win and both of which offered support in his campaign.

The implications of the outcome extend far beyond Hungary’s borders. The next prime minister may help alter the course of the war in Ukraine, a neighbor that Mr. Orban has cast as an enemy of Hungary, and affect European security. And the results will be looked at by populists around the world who view the Hungarian leader as a model of success and of pugnacious defiance of the mainstream.

After the results, large crowds of mostly young people thronged the banks of the River Danube in front of the Parliament Building, cheering and waving Hungarian flags. Many were stunned by the speed and scale of the defeat of Mr. Orban, whose party won the four previous elections easily.

With 66 percent of votes counted, Mr. Magyar’s opposition party was on course to win 137 seats — more than a two-thirds majority. Mr. Orban’s party, Fidesz, was expected to win just 55.

Shortly before polls closed, the electoral authorities said that more than 77 percent of registered voters had cast ballots, the highest turnout in a Hungarian election since the collapse of Communism in 1989 and the start of democracy.

“Thank You Hungary!” Mr. Magyar said in a brief message on Facebook, reporting that Mr. Orban had called to congratulate him.

During his 16 years in power, Mr. Orban remade Hungary in his own image, eliminating many checks and balances by stacking the judicial system and nominally independent agencies with Fidesz loyalists, and taking control of most news media outlets. He also worked to export his model of “illiberal democracy,” promoting himself as an invincible guru for followers across Europe and elsewhere.

Sunday’s election results are likely to disappoint Mr. Trump, who sent Vice President JD Vance to Budapest, the Hungarian capital, last week to rally support for Mr. Orban in the final stretch of the campaign.

“I love Viktor,” said Mr. Trump, speaking by telephone from Washington to a gathering of Fidesz supporters in Budapest on Tuesday.

But Mr. Orban’s defeat will delight liberals and the European Union, which had increasingly come to view him as a disruptive menace. Before the results were known, Mr. Magyar noted that Election Day was the anniversary of a 2003 vote in favor of joining the European Union, a signal that he may move to end the Orban government’s antagonism toward the bloc.

Long a thorn in the side of E.U. officials in Brussels, Mr. Orban has consistently blocked European assistance to Ukraine, worked to water down sanctions on Russia and presented Ukraine, not Russia, as the principal threat to Europe’s security.

Those positions made him an invaluable ally for the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin. Mr. Putin, hoping to help Mr. Orban’s chances in the election, assured him last month that Hungary could rely on steady deliveries of Russian oil and gas despite disruptions to global energy supplies caused by the war in Iran.

Despite his country’s small size and population of fewer than 10 million people, Mr. Orban, 62, has played an outsize role on the world stage, inspiring and, in some cases, funding like-minded political forces abroad. He became the standard-bearer for right-wing politicians committed to “family values” and “Western civilization” against what he has denounced as degenerate, multicultural liberals.

While sharing some of Mr. Orban’s views on the importance of national sovereignty and the dangers of “woke ideology,” the opposition leader, Mr. Magyar, a lawmaker in the European Parliament and divorced father of three, won votes for Tisza by promising drastic change, though he was often vague on the specifics.

On one issue he has been unequivocal. Mr. Magyar, 45, promised voters a clean break with the endemic corruption that has enriched the prime minister’s family and friends and helped saddle Hungary with the slowest-growing economy in the region. Hungary, according to an annual ranking by Transparency International, is the most corrupt country in the European Union.

Eager to reach beyond Budapest liberals, who have loathed Mr. Orban for years, Mr. Magyar stayed far away from issues dear to progressives like L.G.B.T. rights. He campaigned mainly on his biggest asset: he is not Viktor Orban. The prospect of change, no matter in what direction, underpinned much of his support.

“I want a change, I think we deserve a change,” said Eva Kepesne Fekete, 51, who works at a McDonald’s restaurant in Budapest. On her way to a polling station, she said she was tilting toward Tisza but was worried by reports in the media about a coming war if Mr. Orban lost.

Fears of war, stoked relentlessly by television and other new media outlets controlled by Fidesz, loomed large for those who said they had voted for Mr. Orban’s party.

“Magyar would drag Hungary into war,” said a Roma woman who would give only her first name, Eniko, 67. “I have two sons, and I don’t want them to become soldiers.”

Mr. Orban grew increasingly strident during the campaign in his attacks on Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Mr. Magyar tried to tap into nationalist sentiment by recalling Hungary’s bitter history of bullying by Russia, which helped crush a liberal revolution in 1848 and an anti-Communist uprising in 1956.

Kremlin propaganda amplified and in some cases inspired Fidesz campaign talking points, particularly the message that Mr. Zelensky posed a serious threat to Hungary, and that a loss for Mr. Orban in the election would bring conflict and sharply higher energy prices for Hungarian households.

The outcome this weekend vindicated the credibility of pollsters, most of which had given Tisza a wide lead over Fidesz and predicted a crushing defeat for the governing party.

The election also delivered a major blow to Europe’s longest-serving government leader, and to those who look to him for inspiration and funding.

Despite pressure from the European Union, whose rules he has persistently defied, Mr. Orban has been dogged in pursuing the goal he set in 2014 of “constructing in Hungary an illiberal state, a non-liberal state.”

Since then, Hungary has slid steadily down global rankings for personal and economic liberty, corruption and press freedom, becoming the first member of the European Union to drop from “free” to “partly free” in a 2019 ranking compiled by Freedom House.

Hungary, under Fidesz, established a host of research centers and other bodies offering well-paid work to American and other foreign conservatives who say they have been discriminated against in their home countries because of their views. It also hosted an annual conference in Budapest of the U.S. Conservative Political Action Committee, a fiesta of “anti-woke” speeches by right-wing politicians and pundits from around the world.

Mr. Magyar, speaking in Budapest soon after polls closed, declared himself “cautiously optimistic,” despite what he said had been “thousands of reports” of election tampering.

“Even in the smallest township,” he said, “people have seen that this cruel, inhumane power is finished and Hungary will once again become a free country.”

Andrew Higgins is the East and Central Europe bureau chief for The Times based in Warsaw.

A version of this article appears in print on April 13, 2026, Section A, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Orban Concedes in Hungary, Slowing Global Tilt to the Right.