Defense Secretary Hegseth, bedeviled by leaks, orders extra restrictions on press at Pentagon-OxBig News Network

Bedeviled by leaks to the media throughout his quick tenure, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a collection of restrictions on the press late Friday that embody banning reporters from getting into large swaths of the Pentagon with no authorities escort — areas the place the press has had entry in previous administrations because it covers the actions of the world’s strongest army.

Newly restricted areas embody his workplace and people of his prime aides and the entire totally different areas throughout the mammoth constructing the place the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Space Force preserve press places of work.

The media may also be barred from places of work of the Pentagon’s senior army management, together with Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, with out Hegseth’s approval and an escort from his aides. The employees of the Joint Chiefs has historically maintained relationship with the press.

Hegseth, the previous Fox News Channel persona, issued his order through a posting on X late on a Friday afternoon earlier than a vacation weekend. He stated it was needed for nationwide safety.

“While the division stays dedicated to transparency, the division is equally obligated to guard (labeled intelligence data) and delicate data, the unauthorized disclosure of which might put the lives of U.S. service members in peril,” wrote Hegseth.

The Pentagon Press Association expressed skepticism that operational considerations have been at play — and linked the transfer to earlier actions by Hegseth’s workplace that impede journalists and their protection.

“There isn’t any strategy to sugarcoat it. Today’s memo by Secretary Hegseth seems to be a direct assault on the liberty of the press and America’s proper to know what its army is doing,” it stated in an announcement Friday evening. “The Pentagon Press Association is extraordinarily involved by the choice to limit motion of accredited journalists inside the Pentagon by way of non-secured, unclassified hallways.”

Hegseth additionally stated reporters will likely be required to signal a type to guard delicate data and can be issued a brand new badge that extra clearly identifies them as press. It was not clear whether or not signing the shape can be a situation of continued entry to the constructing.

Two months in the past, the division was embarrassed by a leak to The New York Times that billionaire Elon Musk was to get a briefing on the U.S. army’s plans in case a conflict broke out with China. That briefing by no means happened, on President Donald Trump’s orders, and Hegseth suspended two Pentagon officers as a part of an investigation into how that information bought out.

The Pentagon was additionally embarrassed when the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently included in a bunch chat on the Signal messaging app the place Hegseth mentioned plans for upcoming army strikes in Yemen. Trump’s former nationwide safety adviser, Mike Waltz, took duty for Goldberg being included and was shifted to a different job.

The administration has taken a number of aggressive actions towards the press since Trump took over, together with FCC investigations into ABC, CBS and NBC News. Restrictions imposed on The Associated Press’ entry to sure White House occasions earlier this 12 months led to a court docket battle that’s ongoing.

The White House has additionally elevated entry for conservative media which are pleasant to the president. Nevertheless, a examine launched earlier this month discovered that Trump had extra frequent exchanges with reporters throughout his first 100 days in workplace than any of his six predecessors.

Hegseth, nevertheless, has been far much less out there. He has but to talk to the press within the Pentagon briefing room. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell has held just one Pentagon press briefing since Jan. 20. The Pentagon has taken different steps to make it harder for reporters, together with taking workplace area away from eight media shops, together with The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and NBC.