US media return Pentagon passes, giving up access after new rules come in | news

Journalists from more than 30 media outlets have walked out of the Pentagon, refusing to comply with the new information restrictions.

Dozens of media outlets have lost access to the Pentagon after they refused to sign a new set of guidelines that sharply restrict their ability to report on the US military.

The Pentagon had set a deadline of Wednesday afternoon in the US for reporters to agree to a new 21-page set of rules for obtaining press credentials and access to Pentagon facilities.

More than 30 media outlets have declined to cooperate, including The Associated Press, Bloomberg, Politico, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Reuters, CNN and more.

Conservative news outlets such as Fox News and Newsmax, both favored by US President Donald Trump, also refused to sign the rules.

The Pentagon Press Association, which represents more than 100 media outlets, said in a statement Tuesday that the Defense Department has begun confiscating media badges “from virtually every news organization in America.”

“He did so because journalists would not sign a new media policy because of its implicit threat to criminalize national security reporting and expose those who sign it to possible prosecution,” the press group said.

Media outlets have announced that they will continue to report on the Pentagon, albeit without direct access to the building and the news.

The new Pentagon rules restrict reporters’ ability to move around the building, interact with staff and “solicit information” from sources, according to a Pentagon memo published online by the New York Times.

They also try to restrict the media’s ability to publish classified information and even some unclassified information, even though this right is protected by a 1971 Supreme Court ruling.

The case, New York Times v. United States, protected the rights of The New York Times and The Washington Post to publish the Pentagon Papers at the height of the Vietnam War.

The previous Pentagon guidelines fit on a single page. They mainly dealt with protocols for entering Pentagon facilities and storing personal property, according to another document shared by The New York Times.

The changes to the Pentagon’s reporting rules were first introduced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host, in September.

It drew immediate criticism because it appeared to make journalists legally responsible for reporting on the Pentagon.

A revised version of the rules toned down some of the language, but media outlets say they still violate their constitutional rights to free speech and freedom of the press.

The Pentagon played down the media’s concerns in a statement on Monday.

“Policy doesn’t ask them to agree, just to acknowledge that they understand what our policy is. This has resulted in reporters having a total meltdown, a victim crying online. We stand by our policy because it’s what’s best for our troops and the national security of this country,” Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said.