Hegseth’s press purge is now complete

Donald Trump in recent months explained reporters he d have no dilemma releasing video of U S strikes off the Venezuelan coast where two survivors clinging to the shipwreck were shown no quarter After a first strike the Washington Post broadcasted that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth verbally ordered the Joint Special Operations commander to kill them all While Hegseth has denied giving such an order and a Navy admiral supported his version of events congressional investigators have called the video deeply concerning Such a strike could have violated federal law the U S Code on War Crimes and the Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibiting murder But when appealed about the video three days later Trump denied ever agreeing to release it telling a reporter You noted that I didn t say that This is ABC fake news He briskly pivoted to say Whatever Pete Hegseth decides to release to the media will be fine with him It was a safe punt Hegseth has fought media access to the Pentagon like no defense secretary before him and he will keep spinning his alleged kill everyone strikes his Signalgate publication of war plans and every other military crime he can get away with until he can be stopped Even while reports emerged on Wednesday that the House panel studying the boat strike planned to end its probe the full House passed a defense bill to release the video of the strike The measure will now go to the Senate If signed into law by Trump the bill would withhold of Hegseth s tour budget until his orders and videos for all the boat strikes nearly two dozen in all are distributed Since he took office in February after being narrowly established by the Senate Hegseth a former Fox News bobblehead with barely-there military credentials has fought the release of any Pentagon information that he hasn t choreographed Since he took office in February after being narrowly authenticated by the Senate Hegseth a former Fox News bobblehead with barely-there military credentials has fought the release of any Pentagon information that he hasn t choreographed In September he stated a new department procedures that essentially required journalists to get his permission before they publish Journalists were required to sign pledges acknowledging that if they appealed the wrong questions or probed into department employees in any way that could elicit the wrong kinds of information they could be labeled a national assurance pitfall lose their Pentagon press badges and be blocked from the Pentagon When Hegseth disclosed the change credible media outlets cried foul The New York Times called it an attempt to constrain how journalists can overview on the U S military which is funded by nearly trillion in taxpayer dollars annually adding that the population has the right to know how the establishment and military are operating The National Press Club also weighed in stating For generations Pentagon reporters have provided the citizens with vital information about how wars are fought how defense dollars are spent and how decisions are made that put American lives at danger That work has only been manageable because reporters could seek out facts without needing governing body permission Related Boat strikes War crime or fake news hoax Even MAGA-centric outlets Fox News and Newsmax refused to sign the pledge On Dec the Times put teeth into their criticism and filed suit to restore media access to the Pentagon Hegseth s reach for a media oath smacks of prior restraint a type of executive censorship before publication that has long been deemed unconstitutional Several early cases examined when national defense interests were strong enough to overcome First Amendment freedoms in times of war During World War II the popular saying Loose lips sink ships reflected an awareness that advance community disclosure of military secrets could be dangerous But in the Supreme Court held that prior restraint on speech by the regime is unconstitutional requiring an exceptional showing of grave and irreparable danger In The New York Times vs the United States the Nixon administration tried to block publication of the Pentagon Papers by arguing that publication of classified documents about the Vietnam War would endanger national precaution necessitating prior restraint to protect vital prevention interests The Supreme Court ruled that the masses s right to know outweighed the danger of publication and that vague measure states aren t enough to censor the press Want more sharp takes on politics Sign up for our free newsletter Standing Room Only written by Amanda Marcotte now also a weekly show on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts In order to backing an issuance of prior restraint this day the administration must prove that publication would cause inevitable direct and immediate danger to the United States In Hegseth s alleged kill everyone bombings it s hard to fathom how releasing video after the fact would jeopardize anything other than his own spin as all the casualties are dead their ships obliterated and Trump himself has repeatedly posted snuff videos of the violence in the Caribbean Blind to irony both Hegseth and Trump have personally modeled why several military secrets should not be published at least not in advance of the act In March Hegseth s Signal chat which mistakenly included the Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg published U S plans of an impending attack in Yemen including the exact time and location The information could have easily led to an ambush or counter attack costing American lives In June Trump posted that the U S knew where Iran s enriched uranium was stockpiled giving Iran advanced warnings to move it before the bombing began which Iran did Both Trump and Hegseth seriously jeopardized national safety by releasing military plans in advance of attacks which no media outlet has sought the right to do Nonetheless Hegseth s new media restraints require Pentagon approval before masses release of even unclassified information because unauthorized disclosure poses a protection exposure that could damage the national assurance of the United States and place personnel in jeopardy We need your help to stay independent Subscribe this day to advocacy Salon s progressive journalism After years of free press access to the Pentagon and the military professionals who work there Hegseth has granted himself sole authority to determine when journalists pose national prevention risks Based on a journalist s receipt publication or solicitation of any unauthorized information the defense secretary has unbridled discretion to block eject and blacklist them This amounts to authority to revoke reporters access to the Pentagon for engaging in lawful newsgathering which is an illegal prior restraint to stop speech before it happens Hegseth s purge of the Pentagon press corps is now complete He has replaced all credible media outlets with MAGA content creators whom he welcomed to the Pentagon earlier this week for press briefings These MAGA influencers despite their lack of reporting or military beat experience are the new Pentagon press corps They include representatives of LindellTV which is owned by MyPillow CEO and major Trump donor Mike Lindell and Frontlines by Turning Point USA as well as conspiracy theorist and Trump whisperer Laura Loomer and Tim Pool who was paid to produce videos for a company secretly funded by the Russian leadership All of them signed Hegseth s pledge without hesitation Read more about this topic Pete Hegseth s warrior ethos is plain old cowardice In Latin America Trump signals war in all but name Pete Hegseth s press crackdown is backfiring The post Hegseth s press purge is now complete appeared first on Salon com