Pentagon fired Stars and Stripes publisher, editor-in-chief, reporter for insubordination Slavin says was CBS News interview on Pentagon interference

On August 21, 2026, the Pentagon fired Stars and Stripes editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, publisher Max D. Lederer Jr., and Middle East correspondent Lara Korte, citing insubordination. The Department of Defense delivered separation notices giving all three five days to appeal. Slavin said the charge traced directly to a July interview with CBS News' Sunday Morning, in which he said censorship of news for service members would be a "red line" the Pentagon could not cross, and that being ordered to run Pentagon-written copy in place of accurate reporting would cross it. Korte, who joined the paper in December 2024 and had extensively covered the U.S. war against Iran, said in the same interview that she worked for Stars and Stripes — "not for the Pentagon, not for any administration, not for any policymaker."

Stars and Stripes, founded during the Civil War and roughly 65% funded by the Defense Department, operates under a statutory guarantee of editorial independence from the military chain of command. The firings came three days after Lederer, the paper's publisher for 19 years, announced his retirement effective September 30, citing "fundamental differences" with Pentagon leadership; CBS News had separately reported that Pentagon officials discussed firing Lederer outright before he could retire on his own terms. The Pentagon had also clashed with the outlet over its reporting — published August 12, alongside similar coverage in Military Times and Navy Times — on deteriorating morale and mental-health conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during its deployment in support of the Iran war; President Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao downplayed or denied those accounts.

A Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the separation notices but referred further comment to an open letter from the paper's newly installed military deputy to the publisher, Navy Capt. William Urban, which did not address the firings directly. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell had previously pledged to "refocus" Stars and Stripes' content "away from woke distractions" and modernize its operations. Korte called the firings "a shame for the institution and service members, who swore to defend the Constitution and deserve the right to a free and independent press."

Updates

2026-08-22 — Fired journalists sued Hegseth and Pentagon officials [6]

Lederer, Slavin, and Korte sued Hegseth, Parnell, and Pentagon aide Andrew Brey in federal court, alleging the firings violated their First Amendment and statutory rights and that the stated "insubordination" cause was pretextual retaliation for the CBS interview and for the paper's USS Abraham Lincoln reporting. The complaint states the suit "seeks to prevent the blatant violation of the First Amendment rights of these journalists and challenges the U.S. Department of Defense's extraordinary censorship efforts."

2026-09-04 — Judge declined to block the firings, finding the interview was official-capacity speech [7]

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden denied the fired journalists' request to halt their terminations while their lawsuit proceeds, ruling that Slavin and Korte spoke to CBS in their official capacities rather than as private citizens, so "the First Amendment does not apply." McFadden rejected the argument that Capt. William Urban's remarks to Korte were evidence of retaliatory intent, calling them "more like a helping hand" than a "smoking gun," and found the timing of the firings relative to the paper's USS Abraham Lincoln reporting "bizarre" but not proof of retaliation, crediting the government's account that separation notices were already in preparation before that story ran. The ruling is not a final decision in the case; the journalists said they were considering next steps.