Not that there’s much to talk about, both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees have launched investigations. US military attack against alleged drug couriers in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Hegseth’s team says the briefing is part of special orientation programs for the newly certified Pentagon press corps, which consists primarily of conservative outlets that have agreed to their new rules for operating. Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson is scheduled to meet with reporters on Tuesday, and Hegseth will meet with reporters on Wednesday.
Most mainstream outlets stormed out of the Pentagon This declined rather than agreeing to new rules. The Defense Department says these are “common sense” rules designed to prevent the spread of classified information. News outlets were concerned that they would effectively be agreeing to report only news approved by Hegseth.
Late journalists are still working, just at a distance
Rule Journalists are not hired By working even without physical access. The Washington Post reported Friday that Hegseth ordered a second attack on a boat carrying suspected drug smugglers in September after the initial one did not kill everyone. President Donald Trump said Hegseth refused He did what some critics have called possible war crimes if true.
The Post, The Associated Press, CNN, Reuters and Newsmax were some of the outlets that said Monday they had requested special access to the Pentagon to cover the question-and-answer session, but were denied.
Mark Lavin, regional director for North America for Agence France-Presse, said, “Denying access to briefings to credible and non-partisan news media that regularly cover the Pentagon is not conducive to transparency for the American public, which funds the department’s budget by several hundreds of billions of dollars per year.” He also said that his request was rejected.
The department’s press office said Wilson’s briefing was part of a special orientation program “for certified press only.” It would not say whether the same rules would be followed in future briefings. Defense Department briefings were frequent and regular; Only a few have been held since Trump began his second term.
It is unclear whether any of the briefings will be seen outside the Pentagon. Lavine said AFP was told access to the livestream was not possible.
Newcomers take to social media
Some of the Pentagon’s new press corps posted photos of themselves online Monday wearing their credentials.
They included influential Trump aide Laura Loomer, who is photographed sitting at an empty desk. “The Washington Post @washingtonpost and Dan Lamothe @DanLamothe lived at this desk inside the Pentagon press room,” she wrote. “Now it’s mine!”
Lamothe replied on the
Alexandra Ingersoll and former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz were recently honored at the Pentagon on behalf of One America News. Ingersoll is expected to report live from the Pentagon this week, said Charles Herring, OAN president. He conducted an interview with Hegseth which appeared on the network on November 20.
Rob Blue, president and executive editor of The Daily Signal, said he expected to attend the briefing with reporter Bradley DeWine, assuming some last-minute issues with his credentials were ironed out.
Bluey said in an interview that he understands the need for regulations in issuing credentials, as his outlets were often denied access to locations before the Trump administration.
“In general,” he said, “I think when government agencies make mistakes in terms of transparency it is for the benefit of the American people.”
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David Bauder writes for the AP about the intersection of media and entertainment. follow him http://x.com/dbauder And https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social
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