This was allegedly about “national security,” but it was really about Whiskey Barrel Pete’s paranoia about people leaking about him. Via the Bezos Post:
The nation’s military and defense journalists exited the Pentagon in unison Wednesday afternoon, having had their accreditation revoked after refusing to agree to the Defense Department’s new restrictions on their newsgathering activities.
The new rules, which among other things bar reporters from soliciting information that the government hasn’t authorized for them, prompted journalists from The Washington Post and dozens of other outlets to turn in their press credentials and decamp for possibly the last time during Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s tenure.
More than 30 members of the Pentagon press corps walked out of the building together before the 5 p.m. deadline, crossing a foot bridge and descending a long staircase that empties out on the northeast end of the five-sided building.
“This is a sad day for those who support a free press,” said Nancy A. Youssef, a staff writer for the Atlantic and a longtime Pentagon correspondent. “But I’m incredibly honored to be part of a press corps that stuck together and was committed to protecting our First Amendment rights.”
In case you’re wondering, OANN was the only “news” organization that complied.
