A new policy related to sharing information instituted by the Pentagon's Pete Hegseth this week is an act of self-preservation by the embattled Secretary of Defense, claims MSNBC host Jonathan Lemire.
Not content with banning journalists from the Pentagon unless the news organizations they represent sign a highly restrictive reporting policy that would amount to stenography, Hegseth is now instructing military officials they cannot speak with lawmakers without first getting clearance.
According to a report from NBC News, a memo from Hegseth's office orders “... all Pentagon personnel, except for the inspector general’s office, to seek approval before they communicate with lawmakers and staff members on Capitol Hill and other elected officials.”
Reacting to the news on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” co-host Lemire suggested it is just another sign that Hegseth is panicked about news coming out of the Pentagon that makes him look bad because he knows he has enemies in the White House.
According to Lemire, the former Fox News personality's new policy, "... points to, first, two different things: the extraordinary insecurity by the secretary of defense, who was hit by bad headlines during his confirmation hearings, who had to weather the Signalgate scandal. He is someone who knows his job status is tenuous.”
“He's not well-liked in the White House,” he elaborated. “So President Trump likes him, but most of the West Wing does not care for him, and he is trying to prevent bad headlines from being generated that could endanger his job.”
“That's part of this,” he continued. “But we should look beyond that. This is not — this is also, first of all, this deprives the Pentagon of a chance to to tell good news stories sometimes when they do that. But also this is a moment that hurts the public, and we should never lose sight of that. This isn't members of the media complaining like, ‘Oh, you're making our jobs harder’ — it is. But those reporters will continue to do their jobs outside the building. But think about the number of important stories that American citizens have needed to learn because of the work that goes in the Pentagon.”