The Pentagon has altered its new rules restricting press access in the building, clarifying that credentialed journalists will not need approval from Defense Department (DOD) officials before publishing articles with information not officially released.
An earlier draft of the rules, released last month, received widespread pushback from news outlets and press groups. It appeared to require that department information, even if it is unclassified, be approved by Pentagon officials before it was published, or reporters risked losing their credentials.
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell at the time argued the “mainstream media” was “misrepresenting” the press access procedures in the first draft.
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The latest press policy, released Monday evening, clarifies that members of the news media “are not required to submit their writings” to the Pentagon before publication. The document does, however, note that U.S. military personnel “may face adverse consequences for unauthorized disclosures,” and that reporters who solicit them to leak nonpublic information could be seen as a “security risks” and have their credentials pulled.
The Pentagon has given media outlets that wish to have access to the building one week to review its new policy and decide whether to sign it. A failure to sign could mean that they won’t receive press credentials.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has steadily restricted press access and accommodations in the Pentagon, despite his spokespeople frequently boasting about transparency.
Under the former Fox News host, DOD officials in late January removed four outlets from their Pentagon workspaces in favor of other media outlets, including Breitbart News and One America News Network, that have appeared more friendly to the Trump administration. When reporters complained to Hegseth’s office about the move, officials removed four additional news outlets, including The Hill, from their desks, though their journalists can still work in the building.
Then in May, Hegseth made most of the hallways of the Pentagon off-limits to journalists without an official escort, a major shakeup as reporters previously had access throughout much of the building without being monitored.
At the time, the Pentagon Press Association said the move “appears to be a direct attack on the freedom of the press and America’s right to know what its military is doing.”
The new press policies are still drawing concerns over how the Pentagon would determine whether a journalist is a security or safety risk and have their credentials revoked.
The rules stipulate that when journalists receive and publish unsolicited classified or sensitive information from government sources, they are “generally” protected in doing so by the First Amendment.
There is also no prohibition on “constitutionally protected journalistic activities, such as investigating, reporting or publishing stories,” according to the draft.
But “if you solicit the disclosure of such information or otherwise encourage [Defense Department] personnel to violate laws and policies concerning the disclosure of such information, such conduct may weigh in the consideration of whether you pose a security or safety risk.”
The Pentagon describes solicitation as including calls for tips encouraging military personnel to share non-public information, as many reporters do via their publications or personal social media platforms.