(AFP) – The Pentagon beefed up restrictions on journalists covering the US military on Monday, days after a court ruled that its earlier overhaul to press access was unconstitutional. The clampdown is the latest in a string of measures by President Donald Trump and top officials against journalists and news outlets often derided as “fake news” when their reporting displeases the administration.
A federal judge ruled on Friday that the Defense Department’s changes to press access last year, which saw accreditations from a host of prominent media outlets withdrawn, violated the constitution. But the Pentagon responded with even tighter restrictions, announcing Monday that it would close a press area called the Correspondents’ Corridor and that “all journalist access to the Pentagon will require escort by authorized Department personnel.”
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell cited security risks for the change and said the department would appeal Friday’s court ruling. “Effective immediately, the Correspondents’ Corridor is closed,” Parnell posted on X. He said a new press workspace will be established “in an annex facility outside the Pentagon, but still on Pentagon grounds.”
The Washington-based National Press Club said the new policy restricted reporters’ ability to do their work. “Closing the Correspondents’ Corridor and forcing escorted access undermines independent reporting at the Pentagon at a moment when the public needs clear, unfiltered information about the U.S. military,” National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. said in a statement.
The Pentagon announced last year that eight media organizations including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NBC, and NPR had to vacate their dedicated office spaces in the Pentagon, alleging that there was a need to create room for other — predominantly conservative — outlets. It also required journalists to be accompanied by official escorts if they go outside a limited number of areas in the Pentagon.
US media including the Times and Fox News, and international news outlets such as AFP and AP, declined to sign the new policy, resulting in the stripping of their Pentagon credentials.
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