TOKYO: The dismissal of three senior Stars and Stripes journalists was driven by their reporting on the treatment of US military personnel in the Middle East, according to the newspaper’s former publisher, Max D. Lederer Jr. He spoke at a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan on Monday, Sept. 14.

The Pentagon fired Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and Middle East reporter Lara Korte for alleged “insubordination.” The three have filed a federal lawsuit, claiming they were retaliated against for defending the newspaper’s editorial independence and resisting government interference.

Lederer identified an Aug. 11 report regarding conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln as the “catalyst” for the dismissals. The report detailed a 270-day deployment without a port call, citing food and water shortages, disrupted mail, and 14-to-15-hour workdays that compromised the crew's health. Stars and Stripes corroborated these claims using information from military families, including a recording of a Navy commander discussing the conditions.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the report as “fake news,” and Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell disputed its findings. However, other media outlets corroborated the story, and the carrier eventually made a port call in Thailand. Lederer also noted that reporting on the evacuation of US personnel from Bahrain had previously angered Navy officials, who subsequently denied a Stars and Stripes reporter access to a military installation.

“These are all indications that we were increasingly putting pressure on the leadership and not telling the story that they wanted to be heard in the way they wanted it to be heard,” Lederer said.

He alleged that while the Abraham Lincoln report served as the immediate trigger, the Pentagon used a CBS News interview featuring Slavin and Korte as the pretext for firing them. In that interview, Slavin stated he would not replace accurate reporting with a Pentagon-approved narrative, and Korte affirmed that her loyalty was to the newspaper’s military audience, not the administration.

Lederer was ordered to sign termination letters for Slavin and Korte the day after the Abraham Lincoln article appeared. He refused, citing the journalists' right to defend editorial independence. Although he had planned to retire on Sept. 30, he was dismissed before that date. “My main charge was insubordination by refusing to fire them for exercising their First Amendment rights,” he said.

Lederer warned that the Pentagon is tightening control over Stars and Stripes, potentially leading to censorship. He noted that the Pentagon repealed guidelines protecting the newspaper’s independence in January and issued a March memorandum requiring content to be consistent with “good order and discipline”—a standard he argues could be used to suppress critical reporting.

The dismissals have created a chilling effect in the newsroom, leaving staff uncertain about the boundaries of their investigations. While a federal judge denied a request for emergency relief on Sept. 4, the underlying lawsuit remains active. The plaintiffs intend to seek internal Pentagon communications during the discovery process.

Lederer emphasized that the dispute affects more than just the three journalists; it threatens the ability of the press to report on military welfare, readiness, and operations in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific. “It’s about whether the military and civilian journalists at Stars and Stripes can do their job without fear of retaliation,” he said.

The Pentagon maintains that the dismissals were based on insubordination.