Additional Coverage:
- Pete Hegseth ‘forcing military officials to sign NDAs’ after carrying out lethal strikes on vessels in the Caribbean (irishstar.com)
Pentagon Under Scrutiny: NDAs, Media Restrictions, and Controversial Operations
The Department of Defense, led by Secretary Pete Hegseth, is reportedly implementing non-disclosure agreements for military officials, a move that marks the latest in a series of efforts to limit media access and the publication of information. This unprecedented directive, initially reported by Reuters, comes despite existing regulations already prohibiting military personnel from disclosing national security secrets.
The death toll continues to rise from what the administration describes as fatal strikes against alleged drug-carrying ships in the Caribbean. These operations, conducted by Hegseth and President Donald Trump, have been met with demands for transparency from lawmakers. To date, military officials have withheld crucial details, including unedited footage of the strikes, the identities of those killed, the criteria for targeting, alleged links to drug-trafficking groups, and proof of narcotics on board.
Republican Senator Rand Paul voiced strong concerns earlier this month, stating, “Those in charge of deciding whom to kill, might let us know their names, present proof of their guilt, show evidence of their crimes. Is it too much to ask to know the names of those we kill before we kill them, to know what evidence exists of their guilt?”
The reported non-disclosure agreements follow earlier orders this month from Hegseth, which imposed restrictions on Pentagon reporters, requiring them to obtain the Secretary’s approval before publishing information gathered while on assignment. In response, dozens of veteran reporters, some with decades of experience covering the Pentagon, surrendered their press badges rather than comply. According to The Associated Press, only the conservative One America News Network agreed to the new terms.
Retired U.S. Army General and Fox News analyst Jack Keane criticized the new policy on Hegseth’s former network, asserting, “What they’re really doing, they want to spoon-feed information to the journalist, and that would be their story. That’s not journalism.”
Former Pentagon officials suggest that Hegseth’s approach, which effectively replaces traditional news outlets with reporters more favorable to the administration, represents an unprecedented level of antagonism towards the news media. In September, the Pentagon released a document outlining various circumstances that could lead to the revocation of journalists’ credentials.
The Pentagon Press Association issued a statement condemning these actions, noting, “Limiting the media’s ability to report on the U.S. military fails to honor the American families who have entrusted their sons and daughters to serve in it, or the taxpayers responsible for giving the department hundreds of billions of dollars a year.”
In response, the Pentagon told The New York Times, “The new media policy is not about any one person or any one outlet. It is about preventing leaks that damage operational security and national security. It’s common sense.”
Raymond DuBois, a former Pentagon official, commented to the Times, “I don’t remember any secretary of defense – and I’ve worked for a number of them – saying, ‘OK, put a shackle on them.’”
Adding to the controversy, Pentagon officials have reportedly accused Hegseth of compromising national security procedures by involving his third wife in his ongoing disputes with the media. Shortly after taking office, Hegseth and fellow Fox host Jennifer Rauchet allegedly attempted to bar an NBC News reporter from the Pentagon, an apparent act of retaliation for her coverage of Hegseth’s alleged past behavior. Although the order was denied, Hegseth reportedly invited Rauchet to a private meeting to discuss methods of impeding reporters, a move his colleagues described to The New York Times as “strange and inappropriate.”
Despite a largely unified front among President Trump’s closest allies regarding the perceived flexibility of free speech rights and media access to government employees, several of these individuals held markedly different views not long ago. Stephen Miller, currently serving as the White House deputy chief of staff, championed the traditional conservative stance on free speech in 2022.
Following the Capitol attack, when tech companies like Twitter, Reddit, Twitch, and Google banned or removed Trump and his followers, many conservatives viewed this as an infringement on First Amendment rights. “If the idea of free speech enrages you – the cornerstone of democratic self-government – then I regret to inform you that you are a fascist,” Miller tweeted on April 15, 2022, in response to the bans.
Brendan Carr, now leading the Federal Communications Commission, similarly declared in 2023 that “censorship is the authoritarian’s dream.”