The New York Times on Thursday filed a lawsuit challenging the Pentagon's new restrictive media policy, saying it was unconstitutional and asking a court to block its implementation.

US and international news outlets including AFP, AP, Fox News and the Times declined to sign the new policy in mid-October, meaning they were stripped of their Pentagon credentials.

The Pentagon policy "in violation of the First Amendment seeks to restrict journalists' ability to do what journalists have always done -- ask questions of government employees and gather information to report stories that take the public beyond official pronouncements," according to the Times' complaint.

"If and when they do and then publish anything that has not been approved by Pentagon officials, the policy permits those off

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