The Pentagon has barred journalists from entering its press office, redesignating the space as a classified facility. The move is the latest in a series of restrictions on press access to the US Department of Defense under the Trump administration.
Acting Pentagon press secretary Jose Valdez announced the change on social media, stating that the press office had been reclassified as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility due to speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War sharing the space. He added that because speechwriters handle classified material, journalists would no longer be permitted to enter the office.
The restrictions follow earlier measures introduced in September, when journalists were required to pledge not to gather any unauthorised information, including unclassified documents, or risk losing their press passes. In October, the department announced a new press corps comprising 60 journalists from far-right outlets, prompting many longtime reporters to surrender their credentials.
The New York Times sued the Pentagon over the policies, which designated journalists as security risks, and a federal judge ruled in the newspaper's favour in March. However, the Pentagon then issued an interim policy barring journalists from visiting without an official escort. Although a district judge ruled that this violated his order, an appeals court stayed part of the ruling, allowing the policy to remain while the government appeals. The Times filed a second lawsuit in May, arguing the policy was an unconstitutional attempt to prevent independent reporting on military affairs.
