Hegseth's advisors are 'more paranoid' — and he's making 'all kinds of mistakes': analyst

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's latest move to restrict press access to the Pentagon shows he seems to be "growing even more paranoid," and that could cause him to make "all kinds of mistakes," according to two analysts.

Eric Edelman and Eliot A. Cohen, co-hosts of the "Shield of the Republic" podcast, discussed Hegseth's new press rules, including one requiring reporters to publish only information approved for release by the Department of Defense. The discussion comes at a time when major news outlets like the Associated Press, New York Times, and Washington Post no longer have press access at the Pentagon, but right-wing outlets like Alex Jones' InfoWars do.

"The idea that journalists are going to roll over and play dead or that people are not going to leak to them, that's crazy," Cohen said.

"I'm sure Hegseth, in his own way, thinks [he has] the kind of control he could exercise over many of his privates," Cohen added. "But with the general officer corps, no. He may not understand how much he's damaged his own standing and that he should care about that because that will affect his ability to implement things."

"The coterie around Hegseth is even more paranoid...They will suspect everybody [of leaking]," he continued. "There's plenty of paranoia in a normal administration in the Pentagon about who's leaking against me and all that. But in this case, I think it'll just be pervasive and that paralyzes you, that causes you to make all kinds of mistakes."