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Has Trump Killed Stars & Stripes? Inside the Fight Over the Military's Newspaper | #SistersInLaw
Posted
August 22, 2026
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11:38Now PlayingBarb, Kim, and Jill break down the Pentagon's move to strip Stars & Stripes — the independent military newspaper read by service members overseas — of its decades-old editorial independence. With the paper's longtime publisher just fired (breaking news mid-episode) and its ombudsman gone before that, the hosts dig into the lawsuit filed by two board members, why it's built as an Administrative Procedure Act claim rather than a First Amendment one, and why Pete Hegseth's war on "woke" coverage might be the real motive. They also revisit the eerily similar gutting of Voice of America and the surprisingly fierce backlash over Stars & Stripes losing its comics section.
(00:00) Barb: why Hegseth doesn't like Stars & Stripes — "because the people are in charge, not him"
(00:34) Jill explains what Stars & Stripes is and why it was created for troops overseas
(01:53) Breaking mid-taping: the paper's longtime publisher has just been fired
(03:06) Kim breaks down the lawsuit — two board members suing the Pentagon over a rule change stripping editorial independence
(04:52) Why the suit is an Administrative Procedure Act claim, not a First Amendment one
(06:34) Barb on why a free press is a feature of democracy, not a nuisance to manage
(07:34) Jill's follow-up: does Pentagon funding give Hegseth the right to restrict content?
(08:39) Kim: why she believes this is a First Amendment violation even if the lawsuit doesn't say so
(09:35) The comics controversy — how cutting syndicated content sparked real outrage
(10:53) The ombudsman was fired first, and echoes of the Voice of America gutting
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