From the Pentagon viewpoint, Trumps wants to control the press. It is the first step towards challenging freedom of the press in America.
The Hill reports, "Starting on Wednesday, all but one media outlet that regularly covers the Department of Defense is set to lose access to the Pentagon.
Trump "has demanded that reporters agree by 5 p.m. Tuesday to a new policy, under which they would need to pledge to not obtain or use any unauthorized material, even if the information is unclassified — or hand over their press badges in the next 24 hours. Media outlets say this is a violation of their First Amendment rights, and nearly every news outlet has refused to sign."
The Post reports, "Fox News, along with ABC, CBS and NBC, did not sign the Defense Department’s press policy by Tuesday’s deadline, having earlier in the day denounced the new regulations in a joint statement that included CNN, which previously said it would not sign."
“Today, we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon’s new requirements, which would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues,” the news networks wrote. “The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections. We will continue to cover the U.S. military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press.”
"Journalism is not a crime!”
CNN reports,
Trump's "policy criminalizes routine reporting, according to media lawyers and advocates, so news outlets are refusing to abide by it. Instead, they are giving up their access to the building, while vowing to continue thoroughly covering Hegseth and the military from outside the Pentagon’s five walls."
This could easily become a good thing. Instead of getting Pentagon propaganda, we are likely to get good honest journalism with unclassified details the Pentagon would prefer not to share.
