Pentagon Purges Stars & Stripes Leadership Amid Crackdown on Press Freedom
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The Department of Defense ousted the editor-in-chief, publisher, and a reporter from Stars & Stripes, citing 'insubordination' after the editor condemned looming military censorship in a CBS interview.
On Friday, the Pentagon escalated its assault on press freedom by issuing separation notices to Erik Slavin, editor-in-chief of the military newspaper Stars & Stripes, publisher Max Lederer, and Middle East reporter Lara Korte. Slavin revealed he was fired for 'insubordination' after courageously warning in a CBS interview that any censorship of news for service members would cross a 'red line,' insisting on the paper’s right to editorial independence.
Lederer, a stalwart defender of journalistic integrity who had already announced his retirement, was also forced out. After three decades at Stars & Stripes and serving as publisher since 2007, Lederer’s memo to staff highlighted his fundamental disagreement with the Department of Defense’s increasingly authoritarian direction.
Stars & Stripes, partially funded by the Pentagon but historically independent, has repeatedly faced threats to its autonomy. In April, the Pentagon also ousted Jacqueline Smith, the paper’s ombudsman charged with safeguarding that independence, in a chilling sign of mounting government interference.
These purges coincide with the Pentagon’s secretive appointment of Navy Capt. William Urban as deputy publisher, a move orchestrated without Lederer’s knowledge. In response, three Democratic senators demanded answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth regarding Urban’s appointment, but Urban refused to clarify his future role, stating only: 'I am currently the Military Deputy to the Publisher. I can’t comment on what my role will be in the future.'
This wave of dismissals comes as the Trump administration intensifies its war on the free press, with the Pentagon clamping down on media access and seeking to seize editorial control over Stars & Stripes, threatening the very foundation of independent journalism in the military.