White House bars AP, Reuters and other media from covering Trump cabinet meeting

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/24/defense-secretary-hegseth-bedeviled-by-leaks-orders-more-restrictions-on-press-at-pentagon.html

Here is the other part why Hegseth is doing whatever the White House is ordering him to do that to the press. And like the White House Press Corp have done in protest the Pentagon Press Association did the same thing too.

“There is no way to sugarcoat it. Today’s memo by Secretary Hegseth appears to be a direct attack on the freedom of the press and America’s right to know what its military is doing,” it said in a statement Friday night. “The Pentagon Press Association is extremely concerned by the decision to restrict movement of accredited journalists within the Pentagon through non-secured, unclassified hallways.” Hegseth also said reporters will be required to sign a form to protect sensitive information and would be issued a new badge that more clearly identifies them as press. It was not clear whether signing the form would be a condition of continued access to the building. Two months ago, the department was embarrassed by a leak to The New York Times that billionaire Elon Musk was to get a briefing on the U.S. military’s plans in case a war broke out with China. That briefing never took place, on President Donald Trump’s orders, and Hegseth suspended two Pentagon officials as part of an investigation into how that news got out.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pentagon-chief-hegseth-meets-musk-second-time-pentagon-2025-05-21/

Some of these concerns is tied to Hegseths meeting with Musk that Reuters reported on. Yes some of the allegations here have the same exact issues as the White House had to deal with directly.

Ahead of his first meeting in March, there was a media report that Musk would be briefed on secret war plans for China, something Musk, Trump and others denied. Musk, at the time, called the report "pure propaganda" and urged legal action against leakers. Musk's businesses Starlink and SpaceX already have a number of Pentagon contracts, raising questions about conflicts of interest as he advocates for innovation and re-prioritization of Pentagon spending to find efficiencies.

Like the last time the wire services are getting hit directly when they investigate the Administration in the same way FCC Comissioner Brendan Carr goes after radio and TV station licenses in the FCC.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

National Press Club Statement on Pentagon Restrictions Limiting Press Access

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2025 — National Press Club President Mike Balsamo issued the following statement on new media restrictions at the Pentagon that threaten transparency and erode public access and accountability: “The Department of Defense has taken a significant step to restrict long-standing...

www.press.org

Here is the National Press Club responding to the restrictions on the press issued by the White House and the Pentagon.

“The Department of Defense has taken a significant step to restrict long-standing press access to the Pentagon. A new directive sharply limits where journalists can go, requires escorts for routine movement, and curtails opportunities to engage with officials. These changes raise serious concerns about transparency, oversight, and the public’s right to know.

For generations, journalists have walked the Pentagon’s halls, asking hard questions, documenting history, and helping the public understand the most consequential decisions our government makes. That tradition is now in jeopardy.

Independent, fact-based reporting on the U.S. military isn’t a luxury. It is a necessity. It keeps voters informed, strengthens democratic oversight, and sends a clear message to the world that America stands for openness and accountability. Restricting access doesn’t protect national security. It undermines public trust.

The updated policy marks a stark departure from long-standing norms that balanced operational security with meaningful press access. By blocking access to common areas, restricting movement without escorts, and complicating basic reporting functions, the Pentagon is making it harder for journalists to do their jobs and easier for power to go unchecked.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

The secretary of defense has now imposed new restrictions on credentialed media covering the pentagon.

Defense Secretary Hegseth, bedeviled by leaks, orders more restrictions on press at Pentagon

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered further restrictions on how the press operates at the Pentagon.

apnews.com

If he's so concerned about security, why did he use a non-secure method to hold a conference call? He's more concerned about the American people knowing what he's doing than he us about our enemies.

Then again the Pentagon can do all the press restrictions all he wants but that does not stop the wire services from covering the latest drama in Ukraine as seen here. The wire services found a way to go around the restrictions.

President Donald Trump says Russian leader Vladimir Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!'

President Donald Trump is making clear he is losing patience with Vladimir Putin, leveling some of his sharpest criticism at the Russian leader as Moscow pounds Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles for a third straight night.

apnews.com

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-attacks-ukraine-third-night-row-ukrainian-officials-say-2025-05-26/

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/kremlin-trumps-remark-about-putin-being-crazy-there-is-some-emotional-overload-2025-05-26/

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

White House stunned as Hegseth inquiry brings up illegal wiretap claims

Exclusive: Trump advisers lose confidence in Pentagon leak investigation Hegseth used to justify firing three top aides

www.theguardian.com

Pete Hegseth Hit With Stunning Illegal Wiretap Allegations

The White House was left scrambling after reports that Hegseth had fired three top aides following an illegal wiretap.

www.yahoo.com

Here's part 2 on the motives why the Pentagon issued press restrictions some of it is coming from drama from inside Pete Hegseths office. As always the wire services, Radio and TV has found a way to go around the restrictions.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

OAN Pentagon Reporter and Self-Styled ‘MAGA Girl’ Says She Was Fired for Criticizing Pete Hegseth’s Press Restrictions

Gabrielle Cuccia, a former Trump White House staffer, wrote that the Defense Secretary's rules are the "antithesis" of MAGA values The post OAN Pentagon Reporter and Self-Styled ‘MAGA Girl’ Says She Was Fired for Criticizing Pete Hegseth’s Press Restrictions appeared first on TheWrap.

www.yahoo.com

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/31/media/gabrielle-cuccia-oan-pentagon-maga-fired-hegseth?bt_ee=RnaL3q2ZorV2W%2Ft6%2Ft8pA4DOsaTekQfpTbmkxbllckfN%2BBNxXZ989vaxV79ylSlk&bt_ts=1748716011030

Woah this is one I never considered when the Pentagon Press Restrictions came out. Now OAN has fired one of their correspondents for questioning the press restrictions at the Pentagon and White House. I was thinking it would be Reuters or AFP to file a lawsuit on the Trump Administration in the same way AP did it over the White House Plus Pentagon issuing press restrictions on wire services like AP, Reuters, Bloomberg, and AFP.

OAN chief Pentagon correspondent and former Trump White House staffer Gabrielle Cuccia, who describes herself as a “MAGA girl,” says she was fired from the unabashedly conservative cable news network for criticizing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s restrictions on the press.

Cuccia was hired by OAN after the network took over NBC’s former Pentagon workspace and soon raised concerns about the Defense Department’s increasing limitations on journalists, including locked briefing room doors and a lack of formal press briefings.

“If you want the best case study for the death of the MAGA movement — look no further than the Department of Defense,” Cuccia wrote on her Substack. “If there’s any place where we should be asking questions, demanding transparency and applying pressure — it’s here.”

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

USA: RSF and coalition demand answers from FBI on investigation into Supreme Court leak

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and a coalition of press freedom and free expression groups sent a letter to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Don Bongino asking for clarification about an FBI investigation into the 2022 leak of the Supreme Court...

rsf.org

Here's another reason for some of the press restrictions in the White House. Yes it's apparently tied to an alleged leak at the Supreme Court. Again this is a systemic issue hitting the media and it's going from FCC questioning of local radio and TV licenses to getting into confrontations with wire services and public broadcasting in the courts.

We’re going to come after the people in the media”

During a campaign rally soon after the leak, Donald Trump mused about jailing journalists who refuse to share their sources using violent imagery: “You tell the reporter who is it … and if the reporter doesn’t want to tell you it’s ‘bye bye.’ The reporter goes to jail. When the reporter learns he’s going to be married to a certain prisoner that’s extremely strong, tough, and mean, he will say, ‘you know, I think I’m going to give you the information.'” It was just one of a shocking number of comments Trump has made on jailing journalists.

Before he was FBI Director, Kash Patel went on longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon’s podcast to say: “We’re going to come after the people in the media.” The investigation into the Dobbs leak appears to be the first step the FBI is taking to fulfill Patel’s threat, but it’s far from the first salvo in the Trump administration’s war on the press.

 

[TheBigA]

An appeals court has ruled in favor of the white house in the AP case:

Trump can bar The Associated Press from some White House events for now, appeals court rules

The AP sued after the White House restricted its access over continued references to the Gulf of Mexico in its coverage despite Trump renaming the body of water the Gulf of America.

www.nbcnews.com

My view is the ruling ignores the actual case, which was that AP was being discriminated against because of its free speech.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

An appeals court has ruled in favor of the white house in the AP case:

Trump can bar The Associated Press from some White House events for now, appeals court rules

The AP sued after the White House restricted its access over continued references to the Gulf of Mexico in its coverage despite Trump renaming the body of water the Gulf of America.

www.nbcnews.com

My view is the ruling ignores the actual case, which was that AP was being discriminated against because of its free speech.

True and also the AP was one of the media outlets that got labeled as "Wire Services" along with Reuters, and Bloomberg to justify restricting press access in both White House and the Pentagon.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Trump administration bars Wall Street Journal from trip amid Epstein spat

White House Correspondents' Association condemns White House's move to exclude newspaper as 'deeply troubling'.

www.aljazeera.com

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5412239-trump-wsj-pool-scotland-trip/

Another news outlet got added to the list of organizations banned from the White House Press Pool and its Wall Street Journal. Yes this was the news outlet I never considered that would be banned from the White House and was considered the outlet least likely to get sued by the Trump Administration. This is tied to the White House suing Wall Street Journal over the Epstein story.

 

[secondchoice]

What if the big networks with evening newscasts, AP, WSJ, Fox and CNN just quit going to the White House news conferences / press briefings. All or nothing. Complete news blackout of the administration and it's lap dog MEGA politicians. If it's newsworthy just a picture and read the statement. Just simply state "we are afraid if we tell the truth we will get sued". If this happened for a week or two I personally believe Trump's reality TV ego would be crushed. Before the "apprentice hype" he was nothing but a business man bankrupted a couple of casinos.

"Together we stand divided we fall".

I know this will never happen.

 

[TheBigA]

New media restrictions at the Pentagon:

Pentagon Steps up Media Restrictions, Now Requiring Approval Before Reporting Even Unclassified Info

Journalists who don't abide by the policy risk losing credentials that provide access to the Pentagon.

www.military.com

NBC News, NPR News, and NY Times were removed from the Pentagon in February.

Pentagon removes major media outlets, including NBC News, from dedicated workstations as part of a new 'rotation program'

NBC News, The New York Times, NPR and Politico must vacate their office spaces in two weeks for other news organizations — including at least one that did not request to be added.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[ted chittenden]

New media restrictions at the Pentagon:

Pentagon Steps up Media Restrictions, Now Requiring Approval Before Reporting Even Unclassified Info

Journalists who don't abide by the policy risk losing credentials that provide access to the Pentagon.

www.military.com

NBC News, NPR News, and NY Times were removed from the Pentagon in February.

Pentagon removes major media outlets, including NBC News, from dedicated workstations as part of a new 'rotation program'

NBC News, The New York Times, NPR and Politico must vacate their office spaces in two weeks for other news organizations — including at least one that did not request to be added.

www.nbcnews.com

The second article linked to was published on February 1 of this year. Though it is important (I will explain why in a moment), the first article did come outtoday. Both articles are important because they more completely tie the sitting U.S. President to the currently sitting leader of Hungary who told a convention of conservative Republicans (I believe last year) that the only way to move forward was to develop your own media and give it access to areas that used to be accessed by traditional media. With the exception of The Huffington Post from the second article, all of the"new" media that have moved into the Pentagon spaces occupied by the old media are media developed by the far right to challenge the traditional media. With regard to the first article, I hope one of the media outlets involved is willing to take this to the courts. Trump might win in the U.S. Supreme Court (apparently they like having kings) but the publicity this will cause will further assist those (including yours truly) who consider him to be a dangerous wannabe dictator.

 

[TheBigA]

The second article linked to was published on February 1 of this year.

Yes I know. I said that in my post.

NBC News, NPR News, and NY Times were removed from the Pentagon in February.

Obviously those companies have still been able to report on the military.

Having a credential really only gets you the ability to ask questions at briefings. But that's official stuff anyway. No real news there.

 

[yeoldeschool]

New media restrictions at the Pentagon:

Pentagon Steps up Media Restrictions, Now Requiring Approval Before Reporting Even Unclassified Info

Journalists who don't abide by the policy risk losing credentials that provide access to the Pentagon.

www.military.com

Bloomberg's version:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1969475664412594351

The US Defense Department is requiring journalists agree to submit anything they publish about it for government approval as a condition of access https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...urnalists-allow-government-to-vet-information

 

[TheBigA]

It'll be interesting to see how the major news organizations respond. I expect that they, as a group, will refuse. They'll pack up, walk our, and continue to cover the pentagon without their permission. We'll see what happens in the morning. This is no way to treat the press if you want to get positive coverage.

 

[davideduardo]

NBC News, NPR News, and NY Times were removed from the Pentagon in February.

They were not removed from access; they were just not given one of the very small spaces in the old press office.

 

[TheBigA]

They were not removed from access; they were just not given one of the very small spaces in the old press office.

Or rather, they were told to vacate the space they had, so it could be given to someone else.

 

[davideduardo]

Or rather, they were told to vacate the space they had, so it could be given to someone else.

That's what I said. They were no longer given the space in the little press office that they once had.

 

[TheBigA]

It'll be interesting to see how the major news organizations respond. I expect that they, as a group, will refuse. They'll pack up, walk our, and continue to cover the pentagon without their permission. We'll see what happens in the morning. This is no way to treat the press if you want to get positive coverage.

As I think more about this, it's pretty common for beat reporters (pentagon, white house, etc) to inform their media contacts at those places that they're about to publish a controversial story, and to ask for comment. It's not uncommon for those contacts to either not respond or not give a comment, and that's reported as part of the story. So in that way, most of the top reporters are already letting them know in advance. The difference here is they're giving the pentagon a right of approval that (afaik) no one else gets. Asking for comment is very different from asking for permission. There have been occasions I know of where a media contact has asked a reporter to hold a story for one reason or another. But this may be asking for too much. This is giving the government editorial control over the news.

 

[TheBigA]

On Sunday, the president was asked about the new pentagon media restrictions:

Trump on latest Pentagon press restrictions: ‘Nothing stops reporters’

President Trump on Sunday appeared to break with the Pentagon over its recent efforts to restrict what the media can report on but shrugged off the potential effects. The Hill asked Trump, as he departed the White House for Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, whether the Pentagon should be in...

sg.news.yahoo.com