Former Stars and Stripes ombudsman sues Pentagon over firing
Key takeaways
- The ombudsman role was created by Congress in 1991 after military personnel in the late 1980s attempted on multiple occasions to suppress unfavorable news of the Iran-Contra affair and other issues.
- Her lawsuit also names Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg and top Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell as defendants.
- Stars and Stripes has operated independently from DOD under a framework established in 1994, despite its staff being Pentagon employees and the newspaper being partly funded by the agency.
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
In a complaint filed Thursday in federal court in Washington, D.C., Smith alleges that her firing was retaliatory and violated her First Amendment rights as it happened 10 days after she penned an opinion column criticizing DOD officials for seeking to undermine Stars and Stripes editorial independence.
Defense officials were working to undermine Stripes editorial independence as part of a broader effort to control and neuter the mainstream media s ability to report on matters of national security and public interest, according to the complaint.
Smith was near the end of her three-year term as ombudsman – the person responsible for monitoring the outlet s editorial independence and reporting concerns to Congress – but was removed before she was set to leave in December.