A federal judge has rebuked the Department of Defense for defying his earlier ruling requiring the Pentagon to restore access to credentialed journalists. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman ruled Thursday that Trump administration officials had committed a “blatant attempt to circumvent a lawful order,” after they failed to comply with his March 20 ruling voiding large sections of a highly restrictive press policy introduced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which violated the First Amendment. In October, dozens of reporters turned in their government-issued press badges rather than agree to the rules, which state that news outlets cannot obtain any information that the Pentagon does not explicitly authorize. Thursday’s ruling reinstates the press credentials of seven New York Times reporters and applies to other members of the Pentagon Press Association.