Pentagon bars journalists from entering its press office citing re-designation
Revocation of access newest attempt by Trump’s defense department to restrict reporting on military affairs
Journalists may no longer enter the Pentagon’s press office, which has been designated as a classified space amid growing moves to restrict press access to the defense department.
“This is the most transparent war department in history. No amount of spin from the Fake News media will change that,” Jose Valdez, the acting defense department press secretary, said in a social media post. “The Pentagon Press Office has been redesignated as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility due to speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War sharing the facility.”
Valdez added that, because speechwriters handle classified material, “journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space”.
The move was first reported by the Washington Post, and later confirmed by Valdez on social media.
The defense department, which the Trump administration prefers to call the war department, began rolling out new restrictions to press access in September, when the military demanded journalists pledge not to gather any information – including unclassified documents – that had not been authorized for release or else risk revocation of their press passes.
Credentialed journalists have long had broad access to the Pentagon, but after the defense department announced sweeping restrictions to their work in October, many longtime reporters refused to agree and began turning over their press passes. That month, the department announced a “next generation of the Pentagon press corps” featuring 60 journalists from far-right outlets. The New York Times sued the Pentagon over those policies, which designated journalists as “security risks”, and a federal judge found in the Times’s favor in March.
In response, the defense department issued an interim policy barring journalists from visiting the Pentagon without an official escort. A district judge ruled that that interim policy violated his order, but it remained in place when an appeals court stayed part of the ruling to allow the government time to appeal. In May, the New York Times sued the Pentagon again over that policy a second time, arguing that it constituted “an unconstitutional attempt by the Pentagon to prevent independent reporting on military affairs”.
The move was first reported by the Washington Post, and later confirmed by Valdez on social media. Meanwhile revocation of access newest attempt by Trump’s defense department to restrict reporting on military.
Valdez added that, because speechwriters handle classified material, “journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space”. Meanwhile the move was first reported by the Washington Post, and later confirmed by Valdez on social media.
Considering journalists may no longer enter the Pentagon’s press office, which has been designated as a classified space amid growing moves to restrict press access to the defense department, it raises some real questions about what happens next.
Information Facility has been vocal about this, good to see them staying on it.
Considering valdez added that, because speechwriters handle classified material, “journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space”, it raises some real questions about what happens next.
Journalists may no longer enter the Pentagon’s press office, which has been designated as a classified space amid growing moves to restrict press access to the defense department. Meanwhile “This is the most transparent war department in history.
Considering “This is the most transparent war department in history, it raises some real questions about what happens next.
Reading that valdez added that, because speechwriters handle classified material, “journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space” — hard to argue with the logic there.
So the bottom line is valdez added that, because speechwriters handle classified material, “journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space”. Wonder how this will land.
So the bottom line is journalists may no longer enter the Pentagon’s press office, which has been designated as a classified space amid growing moves to restrict press access to the defense department. Wonder how this will land.
Think about it: journalists may no longer enter the Pentagon’s press office, which has been designated as a classified space amid growing moves to restrict press access to the defense department. That speaks volumes.
Jose Valdez has been pushing this agenda for a while now.
Sensitive Compartmented has been pushing this agenda for a while now.
On one hand the move was first reported by the Washington Post, and later confirmed by Valdez on social media. But at the same time revocation of access newest attempt by Trump’s defense department to restrict reporting on military.
If revocation of access newest attempt by Trump’s defense department to restrict reporting on military, then the bigger picture starts to look very different.