Limiting coverage to retain access to the Pentagon clear violation of First Amendment
Military Reporters and Editors (MRE) urges reporters not to sign the Pentagon’s new restrictive press policy, which seeks to inhibit journalists’ First Amendment rights. We stand with the news outlets that have already made the decision not to sign this document.
Make no mistake – this is an unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and on the American people, who deserve accurate reporting on how the world’s largest military is funded and managed with their tax dollars. It’s an affront to the Constitutional rights America’s sons and daughters in uniform have sworn an oath to protect.
Secretary Pete Hegseth and his staff have repeatedly misrepresented how members of the Pentagon press corps do their jobs and conduct themselves inside the building, where reporters have worked for decades. Journalists have always worn press badges above the waist and have never accessed classified spaces. The Pentagon is one of the largest office buildings in the world that the public regularly tours and includes a U.S. Postal Office, a CVS and a Taco Bell.
Secretary Hegseth has not briefed Pentagon reporters in nearly four months, and Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson has not conducted a briefing in two months. The Defense Department has avoided questions from the press, all while U.S. troops are operating around the globe, the Pentagon has conducted legally questionable military strikes that have killed people in international waters and the administration has deployed troops to American cities.
Reporters covering the U.S. military and the Pentagon are unique in their depth and subject matter expertise. This press corps collectively has hundreds of years of military reporting experience and will continue its job of informing the public about U.S. troops, military families and defense policy despite Secretary Hegseth’s unprecedented attack on Americans’ right to know.
The “most transparent DoD in history” wants the American people to have nothing more than a government-authorized narrative about its military. Military Reporters & Editors (MRE) stands with the journalists who will ensure that never happens.