Pentagon Designates Press Office as Classified Area, Further Tightens Media Access

(CNA Washington, 1st, Combined Foreign Reports) The Pentagon said on Monday that the U.S. Department of Defense has classified its press office as a sensitive compartmented information facility, barring media reporters who previously had free access to the area.

According to an AFP report, Pentagon acting spokesman Joel Valdez said in a statement: "The Pentagon press office has been re-designated as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF)" because speechwriters who "regularly handle classified material" work in that area.

Since U.S. President Trump returned to the White House last year, the Pentagon has been implementing new restrictions on media reporters.

Eight media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NBC, and NPR, were forced to vacate their dedicated office spaces within the Pentagon. The Pentagon previously stated this was to make room for other conservative media outlets.

Subsequently, the Pentagon required other accredited journalists to sign a new, strict media policy to retain their building access.

Several U.S. media outlets, including The New York Times and Fox News, as well as international news agencies like AFP and Reuters, refused to sign the policy and consequently had their Pentagon press credentials revoked.

In a lawsuit filed by The New York Times, a U.S. judge ruled in March that parts of the aforementioned policy violated the U.S. Constitution.

However, the Pentagon immediately further tightened restrictions, announcing the closure of a media area known as the "Correspondents' Corridor" and requiring that all journalists entering the Pentagon, including those who have already signed the media policy, must be escorted by a Pentagon official in the future. (Editor: Shi Shi) 1150602