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Journalists covering the Pentagon must sign a pledge acknowledging that they won’t use any information that hasn’t been formally cleared for release by government officials, according to a sweeping new 17-page Defense Department memo laying out updated restrictions on media covering the U.S. military.
In the memo, the Department of Defense — which President Trump has given the secondary name “Department of War” — explains in detail the protocol surrounding journalists’ access to areas of the Pentagon grounds, when escorts will be needed for reporters moving around the sprawling complex, the process for removing equipment from the site and other policies.
But the most impactful section deals with the gathering and use of classified information, sensitive material or any other information that the Defense Department has not officially cleared for public release. That section spells out the restrictions on the use of such information. Journalists are asked to initial the document acknowledging that their press credentials — the “hard pass” that most full-time journalists covering the Pentagon have — could be revoked.
“DoW remains committed to transparency to promote accountability and public trust. However, DoW information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified,” the memo says.
“The Department of War must safeguard classified national security information (CNSI), in accordance with Executive Order 13526 and the Atomic Energy Act, and information designated as controlled unclassified information (CUI), in accordance with Executive Order 13556,” the memo continues. “Only authorized persons who have received favorable determinations of eligibility for access, signed approved non-disclosure agreements, and have a need-to-know may be granted access to CNSI. DoW may only provide CUI to individuals when there is a lawful governmental purpose for doing so. Unauthorized disclosure of CNSI or CUI poses a security risk that could damage the national security of the United States and place DoW personnel in jeopardy.”
Later in the document, reporters must initial a section that says their press passes could be revoked or suspended “based on the unauthorized access, attempted unauthorized access, or unauthorized disclosure of CNSI or CUI.”
DOCUMENT: Pentagon memo for members of the media
In a statement late Saturday, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the new policy is an “affront to free speech and freedom of the press.”
“[Defense] Secretary [Pete] Hegseth’s restrictions on the press are part of a broader attempt by this administration to cover up missteps, stifle independent journalism, and obscure the truth,” Mr. Reed said.
“American journalists are not, should not, and must not be mere stenographers for the party in power or the Pentagon itself,” he said. “Their job is to independently uncover and report the truth, hold those in power accountable, and help keep the American people informed.”
In a statement, Mike Balsamo, president of the National Press Club, blasted the new policies.
“The Pentagon is now demanding that journalists sign a pledge not to obtain or report any information — even if unclassified — unless it has been expressly authorized by the government. This is a direct assault on independent journalism at the very place where independent scrutiny matters most: the U.S. military,” he said. “If the news about our military must first be approved by the government, then the public is no longer getting independent reporting. It is getting only what officials want them to see. That should alarm every American.”
For decades, major stories involving the U.S. military, dating back to the Vietnam-era Pentagon Papers and the Abu Ghraib prison scandal of 2004, among many others, have been broken because of journalists working to obtain, verify and subsequently publish or broadcast sensitive information. Such work has been at the heart of how journalists cover the military, and the federal government as a whole.
More recently, there have been several high-profile instances in which sensitive information has been funneled to the media. In one case, sensitive information seems to have been given directly to a U.S. lawmaker, who released it in a public hearing.
Last month, Mr. Hegseth fired Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, who led the Defense Intelligence Agency, after that agency produced a controversial report assessing the damage done by U.S. airstrikes to Iran’s nuclear program in June. That report was leaked to the press just days after the U.S. airstrikes and it alleged that Iran’s nuclear program had only been set back a few months by the operation.
That assessment contradicted public statements by President Trump and Mr. Hegseth.
Earlier this month at a congressional hearing, Rep. Eric Burlison, Missouri Republican, played a video that he said was taken by U.S. drones off the coast of Yemen last October and seemed to show a Hellfire missile bouncing off a UFO and the mysterious craft continuing on its flight path seemingly unaffected by the strike.
The Pentagon would not confirm whether the footage was genuine or came from military aircraft.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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