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free press
Pete Hegseth Can't Handle the Truth
Trump's secretary of war is trying to make it harder for inspectors general and reporters to investigate what's really going on at the Pentagon.
Oct 17, 2025
On September 30, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth pontificated before his captive audience of 800 admirals and generals whom he had summoned from locations around the globe. The media reports of the event focused on soundbites: new physical fitness requirements, grooming standards (“no more beardos”—but don’t tell Vice President JD Vance or the president’s son), eliminating “woke” policies, and other elements of his department’s new “warfighting culture.”
Observing that the military's policy on “hazing, bullying, and harassment is overly broad,” Hegseth also said that the inspector general’s office “has been weaponized, putting complainers, ideologues, and poor performers in the driver’s seat.”
He dealt with that problem too.
Hegseth’s New Rules of Engagement: No. 1—Avoid Accountability
As with all IGs, the Defense Department’s inspector general operates independently to assure government accountability. The office pursues waste, fraud, abuse, corruption, mismanagement, whistleblower complaints, and more. With Hegseth in charge, its plate is full.
As Hegseth railed against the IG, it was investigating Signalgate—his massive national security breach. On March 15, he had used the Signal app to discuss with top Pentagon leaders the detailed plans for an imminent attack on Houthis in Yemen. But the chat mistakenly included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. Another Signal chat that day involving similarly sensitive information included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer.
On September 30, Hegseth published new rules for inspector general investigations, including:
- Within seven days of a complaint, an investigation must be initiated or the complaint closed;
- An investigation can “be initiated only if the complaint meets credible-evidence standard [sic]”;
- The subjects of an investigation must receive status reports every 14 days; and
- “Command directed investigations must be closed within 30 days of initiation….”
The Signalgate investigation itself is evidence that thorough investigations of complex issues cannot occur before the 30-day deadline. That will kill them.
The new timelines and reporting requirements are part of the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to curtail oversight of legally questionable moves, according to Sen. Jack Reed (R-R.I.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
But there’s more.
Hegseth’s New Rule of Engagement: No. 2—Suppress Facts
On September 19, Hegseth issued a new policy that every reporter in the Pentagon had to sign: They could access the building only if they agreed to publish information that was “approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified.”
Any reporter who violated the policy would face punishment ranging from the denial of press privileges to criminal prosecution. Reporters who failed to sign the new agreement by October 14 were required to turn in their press passes.
On October 6, Hegseth revised the policy so that it didn’t appear to be such a plainly unconstitutional prior restraint on a free press. The 21-page document clarified that reporters need not submit their materials in advance of publication. But it shifted the focus from punishing journalists who publish information that Hegseth doesn’t want disseminated to: 1) undermining journalists’ ability to gather it in the first place; and 2) inhibiting Defense Department employees from providing it.
Because Pete Hegseth can’t handle accountability or criticism, transparency is his enemy.
Specifically, the policy warned that journalists who “solicit” federal employees to disclose information that has not been approved for release may lose their press credentials. And according to the revised memo, “Solicitation may include direct communications with specific (Defense) personnel or general appeals, such as public advertisements or calls for tips encouraging (Defense) employees to share non-public (Defense) information.”
The Pentagon Press Association represents more than 100 news organizations that regularly cover the Pentagon. In a powerful statement, the Association said that Hegseth and his department were trying to “stifle a free press” with the new policy that “conveys an unprecedented message of intimidation to everyone within the DOD, warning against any unapproved interactions with the press and even suggesting it’s criminal to speak without express permission—which plainly, it is not.”
As Politico reported, it was “an unprecedented move that demands media outlets hand the department vast control over what they publish… The new rules give the Pentagon wide latitude to label journalists as security threats and revoke passes for those who obtain or publish information the agency says is unfit for public release.”
Every major news organization, including the conservative outlets Newsmax and Fox News (Hegseth’s former employer), refused to sign Hegseth’s document. Only the far-right, pro-Trump One America News agreed.
Here’s Fox News’ statement:
Today, we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon’s new requirements, which would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues. The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections. We will continue to cover the US military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press.
The Lessons
Two themes emerge from this sequence of events:
First, because Pete Hegseth can’t handle accountability or criticism, transparency is his enemy; and
Second, collective action to resist Trump administration assaults on the Constitution is possible.
Never give in. Never give up.
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Free Speech Defenders Demand FCC Chair Carr 'Resign Immediately'
"You know exactly how chilling and unconstitutional your statements have been," the coalition wrote.
Sep 30, 2025
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is back on air, but a coalition of free speech supporters on Tuesday called for FCC Chair Brendan Carr's resignation over his role in the comedian's temporary suspension earlier this month.
"The chair of the Federal Communications Commission should be the nation's defender of press freedom," said Robert Weissman, co-president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, in a statement. "Instead, FCC Chair Brendan Carr has fashioned himself into a MAGA-waving, free-speech-be-damned bully, ready to abuse his power to take down the president's opponents."
Public Citizen and Free Press led dozens of pro-democracy organizations that released a letter to Carr on Tuesday morning during the FCC's monthly meeting, which also drew protesters demanding that Carr resign over the Kimmel incident.
As the letter details, during a podcast appearance, Carr "made a barely veiled threat" against Disney-owned ABC in response to Kimmel's remarks about President Donald Trump and the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Nexstar and Sinclair, which control over 60 ABC affiliates, swiftly announced they would not air "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Then, the network suspended Kimmel indefinitely. Carr, the letter notes, "responded gleefully to these developments, sending celebratory GIFs to reporters."
Within days, as free speech advocates urged consumers nationwide to cancel their Disney subscriptions and vacations, Kimmel returned to his show. Nexstar and Sinclair initially pledged to still preempt his show, but they quickly changed course, too. Still, amid the Trump administration's broader assault on First Amendment rights, critics of Carr want accountability.
The coalition behind the letter to Carr includes Accountable. US, Fight for the Future, Freedom of the Press Foundation, Indivisible, MoveOn, Our Revolution, Progressive Democrats of America, Revolving Door Project, RootsAction, Stand Up America, and more.
What's happening at the FCC today?Free Press' Vanessa Maria Graber joins Candace and Julio to chat FCC 101."Direct action gets the goods!" - @newsjawn.bsky.social Join us on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMZ8...
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— Free Press (@freepress.bsky.social) September 30, 2025 at 9:59 AM
"As someone who has repeatedly inveighed against the dangers of government censorship and who has specifically defended the importance of political satire, you know exactly how chilling and unconstitutional your statements have been," the 41 groups wrote.
"Yet since being made chairman of the FCC by Donald Trump and even before his election last year, you have repeatedly threatened newsrooms and interfered with broadcasters and other media outlets, based on meritless complaints about their journalistic practices and the content these companies produce," the coalition continued.
"To mitigate the damage you have caused, we urge you to retract and apologize for your remarks and clarify that FCC regulatory decisions are not impacted by the views expressed by broadcasters or on their programs," the coalition concluded. "But those actions by themselves will not be enough. Your constitutional transgression cannot be adequately remedied simply with an apology. You should resign immediately."
Highlighting the stakes of the Trump appointee remaining in power, Craig Aaron, co-CEO of Free Press, noted that "Kimmel may be back on the air, but Nexstar and Sinclair—the same giant conglomerates who refused to air Kimmel's show—have megadeals still pending before Carr's FCC and long-standing regulations they are trying to eliminate."
"Carr should not be the one making these decisions," Aaron stressed. "He should resign to prevent any further damage to free speech, press freedom, and the rule of law."
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In 'Crucial Victory for the First Amendment,' Charges Against Journalist Timothy Burke Dismissed
"Now is a time when press freedom is in jeopardy, and it's essential that courts stop prosecutors from twisting the law to silence news the government doesn't like."
Sep 26, 2025
Amid rising concerns over US President Donald Trump's authoritarianism, including attacks on the media, press freedom advocates on Friday celebrated the dismissal of some federal charges against a journalist indicted during the Biden administration.
"This ruling is a significant victory for free expression and press freedom, and it will help restore confidence that journalists, researchers, and members of the public are not breaking federal law simply by accessing or reviewing streaming information," said Bobby Block, executive director of the Florida First Amendment Foundation, which had filed an amicus brief with other advocacy groups.
US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle—appointed to the Middle District of Florida by Trump during his first term—dismissed seven of the 14 charges against Tampa-based media consultant and journalist Timothy Burke on Thursday.
Burke was arrested and charged last year after obtaining and disseminating unaired 2022 footage from Tucker Carlson's former show on Fox News, including antisemitic remarks by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.
"In this case, the government argues that it can prove a Wiretap Act violation solely by showing that a defendant intentionally acquired a communication using a device and that the many exceptions to the Wiretap Act are not elements of the crime but instead defenses to be raised by a criminal defendant," the judge wrote. "Significant First Amendment concerns arise if I were to adopt the government's theory."
"The court recognized that the government's theory not only posed serious threats to press freedom, but also to anyone engaged in everyday internet activity."
Seth Stern, director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, explained that "the prosecution's theory would have allowed not only journalists but anyone who watched a livestream to be forced to defend themselves in court to stay out of prison. It would be naive to think the government wouldn’t abuse that kind of power."
Stern expressed relief at the judge's dismissal decision, while Yanni Chen, legal director at the group Free Press, called it "a crucial victory for the First Amendment—for journalists, for internet users, and, most immediately, for Timothy Burke."
"The court recognized that the government's theory not only posed serious threats to press freedom, but also to anyone engaged in everyday internet activity," Chen said. "At a time when journalists face increasing risks for doing their jobs of holding power to account, this ruling affirms the essential protections they deserve and sends a clear message: The law cannot be twisted to criminalize newsgathering."
Jennifer Stisa Granick, surveillance and cybersecurity counsel with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, also pointed to threats under the current US government, saying that "now is a time when press freedom is in jeopardy and it's essential that courts stop prosecutors from twisting the law to silence news the government doesn't like."
"The Wiretap Act protects our privacy; it doesn't criminalize journalists whose reporting relies on online sources," she stressed. "Tim Burke's case isn't the first example of this kind of abuse, but hopefully it will be the last."
In a social media post late Thursday, Burke thanked not only his "overworked and underpaid legal team" but also the press freedom groups that submitted amicus briefs in this case.
Thanks not only to my overworked and underpaid legal team, of course, but also the ACLU, EFF, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, & other organizations whose amicus briefs played such a large role in helping the court come to this decision.
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— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog.xyz) September 25, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Burke also stressed that the case against him continues, saying, "To be clear, only the wiretap charges (which were half of the total) have been dismissed, though they were certainly the far more serious of the allegations and I'm grateful the court has found them to be deficient."
Last month, Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell—appointed to the Middle District of Florida by former President Barack Obama—sentenced Marco Gaudino to five years of probation with a year of house arrest for his role in helping Burke gain unauthorized access to the videos. Gaudino pleaded guilty to a single conspiracy charge and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors against Burke.
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