Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last month that he would be requiring all media outlets covering the Pentagon to sign a loyalty “pledge” to not seek or report on leaked information, a demand that ultimately “went over like a [wet] fart in a hot car during a first data,” argued conservative political strategist Rick Wilson.
“Only one ‘media’ outlet – the infamous [One America News Network] – signed the pledge to serve not as reporters but as Pentagon stenographers,” Wilson wrote on his Substack Friday.
Indeed, OANN was the only news outlet that agreed to Hegseth’s demand, a request that drew sharp criticism from media outlets who argued it was antithetical to a free press, including the conservative outlet Fox News, which refused to agree to the proposed terms.
“I worked in the Pentagon. I dealt with reporters daily. The distinction between leaking classified information and seeking news is fairly clear. I never met a defense reporter who would have released classified information that posed a national security threat to the country,” Wilson wrote.
“I met many who would take an off-the-record briefing to gain context for what they didn’t understand, and then not report it if it was made clear that it would endanger our troops. I met many who correctly reported that the classified system was being used to hide corruption.”
Under the new policy, outlets that refused to agree to Hegseth’s demands would lose access to the Pentagon starting Wednesday, meaning that for the first time since the early 1960s, “no major U.S. television network or publication will have a permanent presence in the Pentagon,” The Hill reported this week.
But for Wilson, not only was Hegseth’s new policy a failure, it would likely backfire as journalists zero in on the Pentagon amid heightened secrecy.
“Reporters aren’t stupid, and neither are their sources, generally speaking,” Wilson wrote. “There will be more leaks now, and more flag officers with the understanding that the people they’re working for are both stupid and evil.”