An overwhelming majority of reporters who cover the Pentagon are set to hand in their credentials on either Tuesday or Wednesday instead of signing a new mandated policy that outlets argue is inconsistent with freedom of the press.
The Washington Examiner is among more than 35 media outlets that have publicly said they will not sign the pledge. The reporters from those outlets will continue to cover the Department of War, but will do so from afar now. One America News Network is the only media outlet to publicly say it will sign it.
“We do not plan to sign the Pentagon document. The Washington Examiner does not sign agreements with people we cover in our reporting in any other area, and we do not plan to make an exception in this case. The Department of War will set its rules, and we will continue to provide our readers with strong independent news reporting,” Washington Examiner Editor-in-Chief Hugo Gurdon said in a statement.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth argued on social media on Monday that the policy will “no longer” allow reporters to “roam free” in the Pentagon, will require the press to “wear [a] visible badge,” and “credentialed press [is] no longer permitted to solicit criminal acts.”
The policy notes that, “Any solicitation of DoW personnel to commit criminal acts would not be considered protected activity under the 1st Amendment.”
“If you solicit the disclosure of such information or otherwise encourage DoW personnel to violate laws and policies concerning the disclosure of such information, such conduct may weigh in the consideration of whether you pose a security or safety risk,” it continued, adding that a reporter sharing their Signal or WhatsApp address to solicit “tips” or “non-public information” would constitute a “solicitation that could lead to revocation.”
ATSW-PA Media in-Brief_as of 06 Oct 25 by web-producers
Reporters often talk to subjects to evaluate and understand the veracity of whether the publicly shared information from the top is accurate. This policy seemingly threatens reporters’ ability to do this without the risk of losing their press pass and the since-reduced access given to them. It also warns personnel not to talk to reporters, even about unclassified information.
Hegseth’s former employer, Fox News, is among the group of outlets that will not sign it.
His claim that reporters were allowed to “roam free” in the building is also misleading.
Reporters were allowed to walk through the expansive building’s public open spaces prior to the implementation of rules earlier this year to limit their access to different parts of the building. The Pentagon has a dentist’s office, CVS, dry cleaners, and multiple food courts that include popular fast-food restaurants like Taco Bell, Subway, McDonald’s, and Starbucks, among many others.
Reporters have historically had access to these public spaces and common areas. However, they have never had access to the “roam” areas of the Pentagon where classified information is stored or the spaces where that information is discussed.
Reporters previously could, however, walk in the hallways outside the Secretary’s office or the Joint Chiefs’ corridor and run into senior military officers who may be willing to talk to them in an impromptu manner.
Credentialed reporters are given a PFAC credential, which stands for Pentagon Facilities Alternative Credential. It allows them to come and go into the building, but doesn’t allow them any privileges outside of that. Reporters are already required to wear this badge.
This new pledge would require reporters to wear a second badge that specifically says “press” on both sides. The current badge has “press” on it, as did the one that predates it.
“This Wednesday, most Pentagon Press Association members seem likely to hand over their badges rather than acknowledge a policy that gags Pentagon employees and threatens retaliation against reporters who seek out information that has not been pre-approved for release,” the Pentagon Press Association said in a statement.
“Our members did nothing to create this disturbing situation. It arises from an entirely one-sided move by Pentagon officials apparently intent upon cutting the American public off from information they do not control and pre-approve — information concerning such issues as sexual assault in the military, conflicts of interest, corruption, or waste and fraud in billion-dollar programs,” the statement continued.
This is the latest development in Hegseth’s dispute with the reporters tasked with covering them.
The department removed a handful of resident media members from their dedicated workspaces, replacing them largely with conservative outlets that were more likely to give friendlier coverage of the administration.
OANN was one of the outlets that got a space previously used by a mainstream outlet.
The Pentagon limited where reporters can walk in May. Instead of being able to walk from the area of the building where the media has its dedicated workspaces to the Army, Navy, or Air Force public affairs offices, reporters now need an escort from one of those offices to meet them in the press corridor and take them back to their office.
Army spokesman Steve Warren held a handful of press gaggles, or informal press briefings, this summer during which another Army public affairs officer had to escort the Pentagon press corps from the reporters’ corridor to the Army public affairs office, even though that walk does not include going into any classified spaces.
Hegseth has held two press briefings in the Pentagon’s briefing room since his confirmation about nine months ago. Both occurred in June, with the primary topic being the U.S. military’s strikes on Iran. Since then, Kingsley Wilson, the Pentagon’s press secretary, has held two press gaggles, and Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesman, has briefed the media once.
TRUMP FLOATS MOVING PRESS OUT OF WHITE HOUSE AFTER MEDIA REJECTS PENTAGON RESTRICTIONS
In the absence of briefings, the secretary will frequently release statements directly on social media, which do not allow reporters to ask questions about those policy decisions. On Tuesday, as the Washington Examiner cleaned out its space at the Pentagon, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. military had carried out another military strike targeting an alleged drug smuggling ship off Venezuela’s coast.
The Pentagon has not held a briefing since it began using lethal force to target these alleged ships and has not shared any evidence proving the people killed in these ships are, in fact, drug smugglers. These strikes have been revealed to the public from the president’s Truth Social account.
