Journalists leave Pentagon in droves over draconian reporting rules
Dozens of reporters turned in their Pentagon access badges and exited the American military complex on Wednesday in protest against new reporting rules that restrict their works.
The Trump administration defended the rules, saying it was to help regulate a “very disruptive” press.
News outlets covering the Pentagon were unanimous in rejecting the new rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that would leave journalists vulnerable to expulsion if they sought to report on information — classified or otherwise — that had not been approved by Hegseth for release.
The Defense Department gave 4 p.m. deadline for reporters not willing to accept the new rules to get out of the building, and as the hour approached, boxes of documents lined a Pentagon corridor and reporters carried chairs, a copying machine, books and old photos to the parking lot from suddenly abandoned workspaces.
Shortly after 4, about 40 to 50 journalists left together after handing in their badges.
Only the conservative One America News Network signed on.
“It’s sad, but I’m also really proud of the press corps that we stuck together,” said Nancy Youssef, a reporter for The Atlantic who has had a desk at the Pentagon since 2007. She took a map of the Middle East out to her car.
It is unclear what practical impact the new rules will have, though news organizations vowed they’d continue robust coverage of the military no matter the vantage point.
Trump has been involved in court fights against The New York Times, CBS News, ABC News, the Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press in the past year.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump backed his defense secretary’s new rules. “I think he finds the press to be very disruptive in terms of world peace,” Trump said. “The press is very dishonest.”
Even before issuing his new press policy, Hegseth, a former Fox News Channel host, has systematically choked off the flow of information.
He’s held only two formal press briefings, banned reporters from accessing many parts of the sprawling Pentagon without an escort and launched investigations into leaks to the media.
Jack Keane, a retired U.S. Army general and Fox News analyst said “What they’re really doing, they want to spoon-feed information to the journalist, and that would be their story. That’s not journalism.”
On his part, Youssef said it made no sense to sign on to rules that said reporters should not solicit military officials for information. “To agree to not solicit information is to agree to not be a journalist,” she said. “Our whole goal is soliciting information.”
Several reporters posted on social media when they turned in their press badges.
“It’s such a tiny thing, but I was really proud to see my picture up on the wall of Pentagon correspondents,” wrote Heather Mongilio, a reporter for USNINews, which covers the Navy. “Today, I’ll hand in my badge. The reporting will continue.”
Mongilio, Youssef and others emphasized that they’ll continue to do their jobs no matter where their desks are.
