The Pentagon Press Association is opposing a revised Pentagon press access policy, concluding that even with the changes, reporters still will face the threat of having their credentials revoked for seeking or publishing information that has not been pre-approved by the Defense Department.
Last month, journalists raised alarm over a new policy that required that information “be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified.” Outlets like The New York Times and groups like the National Press Club expressed alarm over the policy, seeing it as a way to control what journalists report under threat of losing their access to the Pentagon complex.
This week, the Pentagon unveiled a new draft policy that stated that “members of the news media are not required to submit their writings,” per The New York Times. Reporters will still have to sign the policy even if they “do not necessarily agree with such policies and procedures,” per the Times.
But the Pentagon Press Association released a statement on Wednesday that the Pentagon was still “asking us to affirm in writing our ‘understanding’ of policies that appear designed to stifle a free press and potentially expose us to prosecution simply for doing our jobs.”
The association said that the policy also still “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 policy conveys an unprecedented message of intimidation to everyone within the DoD, warning against unapproved interactions with the press and even suggesting it’s criminal to speak without express permission — which plainly, it’s not.”
A Pentagon spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Fox News, “The Pentagon press corps can squeal all they want. We are taking these things seriously. They can report. They just to make sure they are following rules.”
The press association also expressed concern over Pentagon plans to move all of the news organizations from dedicated workspaces. The association said that they “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.”
Earlier this year, the Pentagon kicked out traditional media outlets like The Washington Post and CNN from their workplaces at the complex, replacing them with other outlets including right-wing media like Breitbart News Network and One America News Network. Pentagon officials said that the changes were part of a new rotating program for the workspaces, but it has left some of the traditional outlets with more logistical challenges. They can still cover the Pentagon press briefings.
The association also pushed back on Hegseth’s assertions, made in the Fox News interview, that reporters have previously been able to roam the building, even without badges. They association said that “the idea that reporters have been prowling in offices where they are not allowed is simply preposterous,” while noting that reporters have always worn badges.
“The American people deserve to know how their military is being run. They deserve more information from this administration, not less,” the association said.
The Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, which also has been seeking revisions to the Pentagon policy, said that the changes still leave concerns.
“The fact is we still have concerns with the updated language of the policy and expect that it will pose a significant impediment as journalists weigh with their employers whether or not to sign this revised version,” Gabe Rottman, vice president of policy for the Reporters Committee, said in a statement.
