Reporters won’t need military officials’ formal approval before they are permitted to publish articles, according to the latest draft of the Defense Department’s strategy to control press access at the Pentagon.

Tuesday’s memorandum seems to have softened the language from an earlier version that said information coming out of the Defense Department “must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorization official before it is released, even if it is unclassified.”

The latest version says both military and civilian officials are supposed to have any information cleared for release by “an appropriate authorizing official.” The policy notes that journalists aren’t required to submit their writings to the Defense Department before approval.

“However, they should understand that [DoD] personnel may face adverse consequences for unauthorized disclosures,” the new policy stated. “Any solicitation of Defense Department personnel to commit criminal acts would not be considered protected activity under the 1st Amendment.”

President Trump has authorized the Defense Department to refer to itself as the War Department — and for Secretary Pete Hegseth to call himself the “Secretary of War.” The change, however, won’t become official until Congress approves it.

Under the new policy, the Pentagon will begin issuing new identification cards to the accredited press in the coming weeks. Unlike the current identification card, the new versions will have “PRESS” prominently imprinted on them in red ink to assist in identifying members of the press within the Pentagon.

The identification card issued to reporters at the Department of Defense is called the Pentagon Facilities Alternate Credential, commonly referred to as a PFAC.

“While a PFAC is your authorized means of entering the Pentagon, [it] does not allow you unfettered access to all of the Pentagon,” the policy states. “When in an area requiring an escort, you must remain with your escort at all times.”

Because of the need to safeguard national secrets, Defense Department personnel are required to have all information cleared for release by an “appropriate authorizing official.” Military members face potentially severe consequences for disclosing nonpublic information with authorization, officials said.

“Members of the news media are not required to submit their writings to [the Defense Department] for approval,” according to the new policy. “However, they should understand that [military] personnel may face adverse consequences for unauthorized disclosures.”

The document states that news media personnel who come into possession of information that could be considered classified should consult with the Pentagon press office before publication.

“Unauthorized disclosure of [classified material] poses a security risk that could damage the national security of the United States and place [Defense Department] personnel in jeopardy,” it said.

News outlets have a week to decide whether to sign the new policy. A refusal to sign could mean losing access to the Pentagon.

The Pentagon said it may deny or revoke a reporter’s PFAC identification card if they are “reasonably determined” to pose a security or safety risk to Defense Department personnel or property.

The policy says the receipt of classified information by reporters is “generally” protected by the First Amendment and wouldn’t necessarily trigger an automatic denial or revocation.

“However, 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,” officials said.

The Pentagon says the First Amendment doesn’t give journalists the right to solicit government employees to violate the law by providing confidential government information, Navy officials said.

“There is a critical distinction between lawfully requesting information from the government and actively soliciting or encouraging government employees to break the law,” the new policy states. “The press’s rights are not absolute and do not override the government’s compelling interest in maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive information.”

Mr. Hegseth told Fox News on Sunday that Pentagon journalists are soliciting classified information from employees, which he called “disgusting” behavior.

“We live in an era where people do things like that, journalists solicit things like that,” he said. “We take these things very seriously, and leaks are a problem we are going to try to address.”

Mr. Hegseth didn’t rule out the use of a polygraph machine inside the Defense Department to crack down on classified information being released to reporters.

“We’ll use whatever tools we need, ultimately, especially with our own service members who can never be part of that,” he said. “We’re setting clear rules at the Pentagon. We’re not playing games.”

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.