“Without precedent”: News outlets reject Pentagon’s new press rules

Leading news organizations are rejecting new rules for the press laid out by the Pentagon, saying they would muzzle reporters and undermine decades of coverage of the U.S. military.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office has given Pentagon beat reporters until Tuesday to sign a pledge agreeing not to obtain or use “unauthorized material” in their reporting. The rules threaten to immediately strip any reporter found in violation of their press credentials. The ultimatum has drawn a rare, unified backlash from nearly every outlet in the nation’s capital.

CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News issued a joint statement Tuesday rejecting the Pentagon’s requirements, calling them “without precedent” and warning they “threaten core journalistic protections.” Before joining the Trump administration, Hegseth worked as a host for Fox News.

“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,” they said.

Reuters, the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and NPR also refused to sign the pledge. Several Trump administration-friendly outlets also balked at the restrictions. Conservative network Newsmax said they would refuse, describing the rules as “unnecessary and onerous.” The only outlet known to have accepted the terms is One America News.

Start your day with essential news from Salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.

The Pentagon Press Association said the new rules “gag Pentagon employees and threaten retaliation against reporters who seek out information that has not been pre-approved for release.” The group warned that potential expulsion from the building “should be a concern to all” and argued that the restrictions “appear to violate the First Amendment” in a statement shared by CNN.

“This kind of Orwellian censorship is a blatant violation of the First Amendment,” the progressive nonprofit group Public Citizen wrote on X. “Pete Hegseth does not get to decide what is reported to the public. You would think a former news host would know that?”

The new restrictions come after the Pentagon was embarrassed by a leak of war plans in Yemen. The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief was accidentally added to a group chat between top Trump administration officials discussing an attack. He then published a story on the massive lapse in security before sharing details of the conversation.

Hegseth has publicly mocked the outcry from journalists, claiming on social media that the new guidelines simply mean the press can no longer “solicit criminal acts.” He reposted several outlets’ statements on their refusal to comply, adding a waving goodbye emoji.