Media Access to Pentagon Curbed

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has imposed a number of restrictions on press visits to the Pentagon, according to a department memorandum.

Journalists are now prohibited from entering many areas of the Pentagon to which they previously had access without being accompanied by department representatives. The restrictions apply not only to the areas where the secretary, his deputies and assistants are located, but also to the press services of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Space Force.

Media representatives will also be prohibited from visiting the office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Kane, without Hegseth's approval and being accompanied by his assistants.

If press require access to other areas/offices within the Pentagon for "in-person" interviews ( or other engagements), they are required to be formally escorted to-and from those respective offices by authorized DoD personnel from those specific offices/ Agencies/Military Departments.

Hegseth said this was necessary to ensure national security. "While the department remains committed to transparency, the department is equally obligated to protect classified intelligence information and sensitive information, the unauthorized disclosure of which could endanger the lives of U.S. service members," the document signed by the secretary says.

Journalists visiting the Pentagon will also have to sign a non-disclosure form.

American media outlets note that the new restrictions for the press have been introduced against the backdrop of numerous leaks of classified information from the Pentagon.