Copyright inquisitr
The Department of Defense, led by Secretary Pete Hegseth, has reportedly directed military officials to sign non‑disclosure agreements, a move that’s raising alarms among lawmakers, journalists, and former defense officials alike. The order, first revealed by Reuters, prohibits service members from disclosing national security information. It should be noted here that such restrictions already exist and reinforcing them with more orders only shows how Hegseth might be wanting to give limited access to information to the public and media. Given his history in trying to control media access and public information, this move is receiving criticism. The controversy comes as the death toll mounts from a series of fatal U.S. strikes against ships in the Caribbean. President Donald Trump and Hegseth have claimed the targeted vessels were trafficking narcotics, but lawmakers have struggled to get clear answers about the operation. Officials have refused to release unedited footage, explain how targets were selected, provide identities of those killed, or share evidence linking them to narcotics. “Those in charge of deciding whom to kill might let us know their names, present proof of their guilt, show evidence of their crimes,” said Republican Senator Rand Paul earlier this month. “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 new NDAs follow orders Hegseth issued earlier this month, imposing sharp limits on reporters covering the Pentagon. Under the directive, journalists must now obtain his personal approval before publishing stories based on Defense Department interactions. The policy provoked swift backlash. Many veteran Pentagon reporters turned in their credentials in protest, choosing not to sign the agreement. Only One America News Network, a conservative outlet known for its alignment with the administration, accepted the terms, according to the Associated Press. “What they’re really doing, they want to spoon‑feed information to the journalist, and that would be their story. That’s not journalism,” said retired Army General Jack Keane, a Fox News analyst who once worked alongside Hegseth at the network. Former defense officials say the move effectively replaces independent media scrutiny with hand‑picked, sympathetic coverage. In their view, no previous defense secretary has ever gone this far in restricting press freedom at the Pentagon. HOW THE PENTAGON IS BLOCKING OUT NEWS ORGANIZATIONS One-Sentence Summary: The Pentagon has implemented new, restrictive press reporting rules under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, prompting major news organizations to reject the terms amid concerns about press freedom and… — 𝗕𝗼𝗯 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 🇺🇸🗽🇺🇦🙀☕️ 🐾🥬🥡 (@bob_weeks) October 19, 2025 Just last month, Hegseth’s department issued a separate document outlining the conditions under which reporters could lose their media credentials entirely. The Pentagon Press Association blasted the guidance, saying, “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.” Talking to The New York Times, a Pentagon spokesperson defended the crackdown, saying, “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.” Former officials who served under previous administrations disagree. “I don’t remember any secretary of defense — and I’ve worked for a number of them — saying, ‘OK, put a shackle on them,’” said Raymond DuBois, who held senior Pentagon roles in the past. Adding to the uproar, insiders accuse Hegseth of compromising internal procedures by allowing his wife, Fox News host Jennifer Rauchet, to participate in Pentagon discussions about media access. Early in his tenure, the pair reportedly sought to bar an NBC reporter from the building as apparent retaliation for coverage of Hegseth’s personal history. Though the ban was blocked, sources told The New York Times that he invited Rauchet to join a private meeting about other ways to manage press oversight, a move described by staff as “strange and inappropriate.” The push for tighter control of information, critics say, clashes with earlier conservative defenses of free expression. In 2022, after social media companies banned Trump and his supporters following the Capitol riot, Trump ally Stephen Miller argued that such censorship “enrages” anyone who values democracy. “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,” he tweeted at the time. A year later, Federal Communications Commission chief Brendan Carr echoed that sentiment, declaring that “censorship is the authoritarian’s dream.” Hegseth’s authoritarian moves are not only drawing criticism from Trump’s political opponents but also from Republicans themselves. The continuous efforts to hide more and more information about the US air strikes and killing of people only make these operations more dubious as there is no clear proof that those being killed are actually criminals.
