Media organizations called out the Pentagon’s “unprecedented restrictions” for credentialed reporters, saying Wednesday the newly updated rules “appear designed to stifle a free press,” asking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to reconsider his stance.
The draft policy, released Monday, notes that journalists given permission to work in the building will not need approval from Defense Department (DOD) officials before publishing articles with information not officially released. The clarification comes after an earlier draft of the rules last month appeared to require that even unclassified department information be approved by Pentagon officials before it was published, otherwise reporters risked losing their credentials.
But the latest policy — which comes after several weeks of negotiations between reporters and defense officials — “leaves open the threat of the Department of Defense revoking credentials for reporters who exercise their First Amendment rights by seeking information that hasn’t been pre-approved for formal release, even when the information is entirely unclassified,” the Pentagon Press Association (PPA) said in a statement.
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The new rules clarify that members of the news media “are not required to submit their writings” to the Pentagon before publication but stipulates that U.S. military personnel “may face adverse consequences for unauthorized disclosures.” Reporters who solicit them to leak nonpublic information could be seen as a “security risks” and have their credentials pulled.
“The policy conveys an unprecedented message of intimidation to everyone within the DoD, warning against any unapproved interactions with the press and even suggesting it’s criminal to speak without express permission — which plainly, it is not,” according to the PPA.
Although the Pentagon is no longer requiring reporters to agree with the new policy as a condition for obtaining press credentials, officials are still asking them to affirm in writing an “understanding” of policies “that appear designed to stifle a free press and potentially expose us to prosecution for simply doing our jobs,” the association said.
Further causing alarm is the Pentagon’s plans to move all news organizations from their dedicated workspaces, moving the press corps to a still-unknown location in the building. That comes after Hegseth earlier this year made most of the hallways of the Pentagon off-limits to journalists without an official escort. The change was a major shake-up from the access journalists have held in the building for decades.
“We can surmise from restrictions imposed earlier this year that the changes will further isolate reporters, making it harder to interact even with the spokespeople inside the Pentagon who are entrusted to approve information for public release,” according to the PPA.
Also being criticized are new demands to wear a press identifier badge in addition to their official badge that gives reporters access to the building.
“Let’s be clear about the facts. Pentagon reporters have always worn badges, and continue to do so to this day,” the association states. “Pentagon reporters have always been restricted to unclassified spaces only- the idea that reporters have been prowling in offices where they are not allowed is simply preposterous. And reporters have a constitutional right to ask questions.”
Media outlets on Wednesday released statements on the new press policy, with CNN saying its mission to report on the U.S. military “will continue regardless of physical access to the Pentagon.”
Gabe Rottman, vice president of policy for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said his organization still has concerns with the updated policy language “and expect that it will pose a significant impediment as journalists weigh with their employers whether or not to sign this revised version.”
Hegseth has defended the updated guidelines while President Trump appeared last month to break with the Pentagon on the restrictions, telling The Hill at the time, “Nothing stops reporters.”