New Pentagon policy sends "message of intimidation," press group says

The Department of Defense plans to enforce new policies that "appear designed to stifle a free press," the Pentagon Press Association said Wednesday.Why it matters: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has faced weeks of backlash over a Sept. 15 memo restricting engagements alongside new requirements that journalists sign an "express agreement" not to gather any information the department hasn't officially authorized for release, or they risk losing access to Pentagon facilities.Zoom in: The press association said in its Wednesday statement that the revised rules shared on Monday would force reporters to sign off on policies that could potentially expose them to prosecution for "simply doing [their] jobs."Reporters attempting to seek out information not yet available for formal release, even in unclassified instances, would be at risk of losing their credentials for exercising their First Amendment right, PPA wrote."The policy conveys an unprecedented message of intimidation to everyone within the DoD, warning against any unapproved interactions with the press and even suggesting it's criminal to speak without express permission — which plainly, it is not," per the PPA's statement.What they're saying: Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on X Wednesday evening that the Department of Defense "has engaged in good-faith negotiations" with the association, "maintaining open dialogue with its members and accepting many of their suggested edits.""The only change is an overdue update to our credentialing process, which hasn't been revised in years — if not decades — to align with modern security standards. Such procedures are standard at military establishments worldwide, and the Pentagon is no exception," he added."Access to the Pentagon is a privilege, not a right and the Department is not only legally permitted, but morally obligated to impose reasonable regulations on the exercise of that privilege."Read the statement in full, via DocumentCloud: Go deeper: The Pentagon's bunker mentality

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