‘Ugly, Un-American Attack on Our Free Press’: Stars & Stripes Journalists Fired for Saying They Had Independence
“It’s a shame for the institution and service members, who swore to defend the Constitution and deserve the right to a free and independent press,” said ouster journalist Lara Korte.
From left: Stars and Stripes Publisher Max D. Lederer Jr., Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin and reporter Lara Korte.
(Photo: Stars & Stripes)
Jon Queally
Aug 22, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
Correspondent Lara Korte, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and publisher Max Lederer were fired from their posts at Stars and Stripes on Friday, in the latest attack on press freedom by President Donald Trump and members of his administration—this time targeting the paper that provides daily news to U.S. service members worldwide.
“I consider it a great privilege to live alongside members of the military and share their stories,” said Korte in a social media post following her ouster. “It’s a shame for the institution and service members, who swore to defend the Constitution and deserve the right to a free and independent press.”
Korte said she was “informed that the Department of Defense is firing me for insubordination after I told a CBS reporter that I work for Stars and Stripes—not the Pentagon, not any administration, and not any policymaker.”
Slavin explained that he and Korte were fired specifically over an interview they gave earlier this year with CBS News, in which they said they were independent of the Pentagon and the White House and that they would resist any effort to censor the news military members receive. Even though the military publication operates within the US Department of Defense, it has always enjoyed editorial independence.
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“It’s a shame for the institution and service members, who swore to defend the Constitution and deserve the right to a free and independent press,” said ouster journalist Lara Korte.
From left: Stars and Stripes Publisher Max D. Lederer Jr., Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin and reporter Lara Korte.
(Photo: Stars & Stripes)
Jon Queally
Aug 22, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
Correspondent Lara Korte, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and publisher Max Lederer were fired from their posts at Stars and Stripes on Friday, in the latest attack on press freedom by President Donald Trump and members of his administration—this time targeting the paper that provides daily news to U.S. service members worldwide.
“I consider it a great privilege to live alongside members of the military and share their stories,” said Korte in a social media post following her ouster. “It’s a shame for the institution and service members, who swore to defend the Constitution and deserve the right to a free and independent press.”
Korte said she was “informed that the Department of Defense is firing me for insubordination after I told a CBS reporter that I work for Stars and Stripes—not the Pentagon, not any administration, and not any policymaker.”
Slavin explained that he and Korte were fired specifically over an interview they gave earlier this year with CBS News, in which they said they were independent of the Pentagon and the White House and that they would resist any effort to censor the news military members receive. Even though the military publication operates within the US Department of Defense, it has always enjoyed editorial independence.
“I stand by the principle that Stars and Stripes must remain editorially independent, as required by law and by the department’s own policies,” he said in a statement Friday.
Press freedom advocates slammed the move by the DoD.
“Today’s firings are an ugly, un-American attack on our free press,” said the free speech group Fire in a statement. “America’s brave service members swore an oath to defend the Constitution. They deserve the free and independent press our Founders fought for 250 years ago, not Pravda-style propaganda. The United States is uniquely committed to freedom of the press, and has been since our founding. Accepting censorship means losing our national identity.”
Speaking with the Associated Press, Slavin said his firing for insubordination was for saying in the CBS interview “that hypothetical censorship of news for service members would constitute a red line” for him.
“We need to be able to provide independent news to service members,” he had told CBS in July. “If we can’t do that, if we were turned into something other than that, if we were public relations? Yeah, that’s the foxhole.”
According to reporting by Stars and Stripes, Lederer was also fired Friday, though he had announced his retirement earlier this week, on Tuesday.
In a letter to the outlet’s staff, later posted online, Lederer explained, “It has become clear that my philosophy of leadership, and my understanding of value and mission of the Stars & Stripes, differ in fundamental ways from the direction of the leadership of the Department of Defense.”
Replacing Lederer as the new publisher of Stars and Stripes is Capt. William Urban, a longtime public relations officer and communications specialist inside the US military with no professional experience in the field of journalism.
Urban previously served, as he explained in a memo to newspaper staff on Friday, as a “spokesman for some of the hardest Public Affairs assignments in the Navy and Department of War for more than 20 years.”
“Does repeatedly being at the center of a media firestorm qualify me to help lead Stars and Stripes?” Urban asked in his letter. “No, but it is not a bad place to start.”
Apparently, a public relations expert is exactly what The Pentagon, under the leadership of Secretary of State Pete Hegseth and President Trump, has been looking for.
Earlier this week, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to Secretary Hegseth about their concerns over the “shakeup” at Stars and Stripes, represented by Lederer’s retirement announcement and the news that Urban would replace him.
“The placement of an active-duty Public Affairs officer in the senior leadership of an organization whose credibility depends on its independence from the military chain of command raises serious questions,” the Senators wrote in a letter.
“For generations, American servicemembers, particularly those stationed overseas and in combat zones, have relied on Stars and Stripes for credible and independent news,” the Senators added. “That trust depends on preserving a clear separation between independent journalism and the Department’s public affairs apparatus. At this critical moment of leadership transition, that independence must not be compromised.”
Press freedom advocates slammed the move by the DoD.
“Today’s firings are an ugly, un-American attack on our free press,” said the free speech group Fire in a statement. “America’s brave service members swore an oath to defend the Constitution. They deserve the free and independent press our Founders fought for 250 years ago, not Pravda-style propaganda. The United States is uniquely committed to freedom of the press, and has been since our founding. Accepting censorship means losing our national identity.”
Speaking with the Associated Press, Slavin said his firing for insubordination was for saying in the CBS interview “that hypothetical censorship of news for service members would constitute a red line” for him.
“We need to be able to provide independent news to service members,” he had told CBS in July. “If we can’t do that, if we were turned into something other than that, if we were public relations? Yeah, that’s the foxhole.”
According to reporting by Stars and Stripes, Lederer was also fired Friday, though he had announced his retirement earlier this week, on Tuesday.
In a letter to the outlet’s staff, later posted online, Lederer explained, “It has become clear that my philosophy of leadership, and my understanding of value and mission of the Stars & Stripes, differ in fundamental ways from the direction of the leadership of the Department of Defense.”
Replacing Lederer as the new publisher of Stars and Stripes is Capt. William Urban, a longtime public relations officer and communications specialist inside the US military with no professional experience in the field of journalism.
Urban previously served, as he explained in a memo to newspaper staff on Friday, as a “spokesman for some of the hardest Public Affairs assignments in the Navy and Department of War for more than 20 years.”
“Does repeatedly being at the center of a media firestorm qualify me to help lead Stars and Stripes?” Urban asked in his letter. “No, but it is not a bad place to start.”
Apparently, a public relations expert is exactly what The Pentagon, under the leadership of Secretary of State Pete Hegseth and President Trump, has been looking for.
Earlier this week, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to Secretary Hegseth about their concerns over the “shakeup” at Stars and Stripes, represented by Lederer’s retirement announcement and the news that Urban would replace him.
“The placement of an active-duty Public Affairs officer in the senior leadership of an organization whose credibility depends on its independence from the military chain of command raises serious questions,” the Senators wrote in a letter.
“For generations, American servicemembers, particularly those stationed overseas and in combat zones, have relied on Stars and Stripes for credible and independent news,” the Senators added. “That trust depends on preserving a clear separation between independent journalism and the Department’s public affairs apparatus. At this critical moment of leadership transition, that independence must not be compromised.”
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“Not only is he a failure as president, he is flagrantly violating the Constitution, breaking the law, engaged in rampant corruption, and is killing Americans, and that is unacceptable to me,” said Maj. Jason Watson.
Maj. Jason Watson, a US airman who was arrested in Washington, DC in July for participating in a protest against President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, talked about his decision to speak out on CNN on August 17, 2026.
(Photo: CNN/screenshot)
Julia Conley
Aug 18, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
Maj. Jason Watson’s participation in a protest organized last month by the Removal Coalition, a group that calls for President Donald Trump’s impeachment, wasn’t his first foray into speaking out against the commander-in-chief.
He spent 22 days last year on a hunger strike, staying anonymous by wearing a white mask and white jumpsuit on the US Capitol grounds, next to a sign that read: “Impeach. Convict. Remove.”
But the US airman spoke Monday about what pushed him last month to go public with his protest against Trump’s unprovoked war on Iran, displaying the same sign at a news conference organized by Removal Coalition, where he wore his Air Force uniform and was identified by name.
“If I don’t put myself out there in a big way, it’s just noise,” Watson told CNN anchor Erin Burnett. “We can change what is happening in our country if we’re just willing to pay a price for it.”
His public dissent against the broadly unpopular war could violate Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which mandates punishment against “any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words” against the president, military leaders, or US government officials, or Article 134, which prohibits statements “made with the intent to promote disloyalty or disaffection toward the United States.”
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink has said the military is investigating the protest. Watson could face dishonorable discharge, a loss of military pay, and months in prison for violating the Uniform Code.
When considering his public protest, Watson said he asked himself, “What’s the highest price that I’m willing to pay, and this is what I ultimately came up with.”
He said he was “absolutely motivated” by his oath to the US Constitution and his concern for the future of the country as Trump and continues to threaten Iran and other countries in the Middle East, nearly six months after the president joined Israel in waging war on Iran.
“Any American can say, this government is intolerable and I want a better future for my children, and I want to hand them a better country than I inherited,” said Watson.
After he joined the news conference on the Capitol steps last month, Watson was arrested by the US Capitol police. He was held in jail overnight and transferred to the DC Superior Court before the DC attorney general dropped the charge, but Air Force police officers then took him into custody and held him at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.
Jessica Denson, founder of the Removal Coalition, told The Washington Post last month that Watson was “prepared for the worst-of-the-worst outcome” of his protest.
Watson said after his arrest that during his previous anonymous protest, he had been overly concerned with being identified, considering the Uniform Code.
“There was nobody paying attention because it’s just easy to ignore a lone actor, especially dressed the way that I was,” he said on Denson’s podcast, “Lights On.”
He told Burnett Monday: “Nothing that is worth doing is something that you can do for free. Everything that is worthwhile is going to cost something.”
“It’s going to be hard, it’s going to require sacrifice, and we are in an incredibly challenging time, and in order for us to get out of this situation we all have to have courage,” he said.
On CNN, Watson doubled down on speaking out against Trump’s war in Iran, which has killed more than 3,400 Iranians, including hundreds or children and women, as well as thousands of people across the Middle East as the conflict has widened, and at least 17 US service members.
The war has also worsened the affordability crisis in the US as oil and gas prices have soared, and led to a standoff over control of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively closed in retaliation for the US-Israeli assault.
“What is happening with the Iran War is very predictable strategically, and a lot of much smarter people than me knew that it would have gone pretty poorly,” said Watson. “And he chose to do it anyway.”
“At the end of the day, it’s also more important to remember that what he did was unconstitutional,” said Watson. “It was an aggressive war of choice that, if we saw another country do that, we would probably look to our allies and say, ‘What are we gonna do about this?’”
He compared the US war on Iran with Russia’s incursion in Ukraine—another “aggressive war of choice.”
“He has failed us,” Watson said of Trump. “Not only is he a failure as president, he is flagrantly violating the Constitution, breaking the law, engaged in rampant corruption, and is killing Americans, and that is unacceptable to me.”
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink has said the military is investigating the protest. Watson could face dishonorable discharge, a loss of military pay, and months in prison for violating the Uniform Code.
When considering his public protest, Watson said he asked himself, “What’s the highest price that I’m willing to pay, and this is what I ultimately came up with.”
He said he was “absolutely motivated” by his oath to the US Constitution and his concern for the future of the country as Trump and continues to threaten Iran and other countries in the Middle East, nearly six months after the president joined Israel in waging war on Iran.
“Any American can say, this government is intolerable and I want a better future for my children, and I want to hand them a better country than I inherited,” said Watson.
After he joined the news conference on the Capitol steps last month, Watson was arrested by the US Capitol police. He was held in jail overnight and transferred to the DC Superior Court before the DC attorney general dropped the charge, but Air Force police officers then took him into custody and held him at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.
Jessica Denson, founder of the Removal Coalition, told The Washington Post last month that Watson was “prepared for the worst-of-the-worst outcome” of his protest.
Watson said after his arrest that during his previous anonymous protest, he had been overly concerned with being identified, considering the Uniform Code.
“There was nobody paying attention because it’s just easy to ignore a lone actor, especially dressed the way that I was,” he said on Denson’s podcast, “Lights On.”
He told Burnett Monday: “Nothing that is worth doing is something that you can do for free. Everything that is worthwhile is going to cost something.”
“It’s going to be hard, it’s going to require sacrifice, and we are in an incredibly challenging time, and in order for us to get out of this situation we all have to have courage,” he said.
On CNN, Watson doubled down on speaking out against Trump’s war in Iran, which has killed more than 3,400 Iranians, including hundreds or children and women, as well as thousands of people across the Middle East as the conflict has widened, and at least 17 US service members.
The war has also worsened the affordability crisis in the US as oil and gas prices have soared, and led to a standoff over control of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively closed in retaliation for the US-Israeli assault.
“What is happening with the Iran War is very predictable strategically, and a lot of much smarter people than me knew that it would have gone pretty poorly,” said Watson. “And he chose to do it anyway.”
“At the end of the day, it’s also more important to remember that what he did was unconstitutional,” said Watson. “It was an aggressive war of choice that, if we saw another country do that, we would probably look to our allies and say, ‘What are we gonna do about this?’”
He compared the US war on Iran with Russia’s incursion in Ukraine—another “aggressive war of choice.”
“He has failed us,” Watson said of Trump. “Not only is he a failure as president, he is flagrantly violating the Constitution, breaking the law, engaged in rampant corruption, and is killing Americans, and that is unacceptable to me.”
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