Because this guy is saying, like, if I accidentally leak a bunch of plans from the Pentagon while drunk on WhatsApp and you publish it and embarrass me, you're going to jail. [00:00:15] Like, this is this is him saying, like, I'm going to get wasted again and I'm going to do something really stupid that jeopardize that make that embarrasses me. So I'm writing a rule that if I am bad at protecting secrets, I can imprison you. [00:00:31] The Pentagon in charge of deciding what? What reporters can report on. Yeah, I don't think so. Are you okay? Are you? Nothing. Nothing stops reporters. Have you been briefed on Estonia? While speaking with reporters yesterday, President Donald J. Trump [00:00:50] seemed to come out against Pete Hegseth plan to put new restrictions on Pentagon reporters on Friday. The Trump administration have unveiled a new crackdown on journalists at the Pentagon, saying it will require them to pledge, they won't gather any information, even unclassified, that hasn't been [00:01:09] expressly authorized as to for release, and will revoke the press credentials of those who do not obey the document specifically states d o w Department of the acronym threw me off because I forgot it's the Department of War. [00:01:24] Now Brett D o w remains committed to transparency to promote accountability and public trust. However, that information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it [00:01:42] is unclassified under the policy. The Pentagon may revoke press passes for anyone it deems a security threat. Possessing confidential or unauthorized information under the new rules would be grounds for a journalist's press pass to be revoked. [00:01:59] Media that wished to report from the Pentagon have to sign agreements restricting their movement in the building and stipulating that they not obtain or possess unauthorized material. Now, this is the latest effort from Pete Hegseth to not only tighten restrictions [00:02:16] inside the Pentagon, but also stop any sort of leaks from occurring. He also tried to subject officers and other officials to polygraph tests, but that measure was shut down very quickly by the white House. Hegseth confirmed the report on Friday, stating the press [00:02:32] does not run the Pentagon. The people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility, wear a badge and follow the rules or go home. The measure has been met with quite a lot of backlash, however. In addition to Trump, who sort of came out against the restrictions, [00:02:50] Republican lawmaker Don bacon also slammed the measure. This is so dumb that I have heard I have a hard time believing it is true. We don't want a bunch of Pravda newspapers only touting the government's official position. A free press makes our country better. This sounds more. [00:03:09] This sounds like more amateur hour Conservative influencer James O'Keefe also stated we should not be cheerleading this. The Supreme Court permits journalists to lawfully acquire info about a matter of public concern. Even a source obtained it on even a source obtained it unlawfully. [00:03:28] Aside from publishing info that creates grave and imminent danger, government should not be asking us to obey media. Lawyers and other newsroom leaders are already looking at ways to fight these restrictions if they actually go into effect. This policy operates as a prior restraint on publication, [00:03:45] which is considered the most serious of First Amendment violations. The Supreme Court has made clear for decades that journalists are entitled to lawfully obtain and publish government secrets. That is essentially the job description of an investigative journalist. In a statement to CNN, [00:04:01] a New York Times spokesperson stated asking independent journalists to submit to these kinds of restrictions is at stark odds with the constitutional protections of a free press in a democracy. This policy is yet another step in a concerning pattern of reducing access [00:04:17] to what the US military is undertaking at taxpayer expense. Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and NPR have released similar statements vowing to fight back. - But Brett, what do you make of this? - Like, this is two things. This is, on its face, the decision for Pete Hegseth to be like, [00:04:37] yo, even if I didn't classify this document, you can't have it. Like, that's horrifying and terrible. And if you're an anti-communist Soviet, if you're an anti-fascist fascist, like it is bad. [00:04:53] Don bacon saying Pravda 100% like. So that's one thing. On the other hand, it's hilarious because this guy is saying, like, if I accidentally leak a bunch of plans from the Pentagon while drunk on WhatsApp and you publish it and embarrass me, [00:05:11] you're going to jail. Like, this is this is him saying, like, I'm going to get wasted again and I'm going to do something really stupid that jeopardize that make that embarrasses me. So I'm writing a rule that if I am bad at protecting secrets, I can imprison you. [00:05:30] After proving that he's wildly horrible at protecting secrets. What do you think, Jordan? Oh, I think in this type of reporting specifically, there needs to be leaks. There needs to be the publishing of classified material. [00:05:47] Throughout history, that has been some of the most significant and important reporting. I mean, and the leaks alone, like the Pentagon Papers with Daniel Ellsberg, just just are absolutely paramount in the history of American media. [00:06:06] What they have often told us, what the Department of Defense and years prior has claimed has led to untold disaster around the world. It has turned America into, in a book as characterized in a book [00:06:22] I just finished reading this weekend, the Fort Bragg Cartel the greatest enemy in the world in the 21st century. It is. We have drawn the ire through that department and I think, unauthorized, independent and brave reporting is absolutely critical on that department. [00:06:43] It's interesting to see some people like Don bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, speak out against it, but he can do so now that he has announced he's not going to run for office. So in some ways, it's not surprising because he's got nothing to lose. [00:06:58] But it would be better if more Republicans took a stand against this. But despite calling themselves the New Antiwar Party, it seems like very few are willing to do so. That's what's so nuts about it. It's like you just called it the Department of War, [00:07:16] like you're the anti-war party and you're like, but we are. But I am war. I am Shiva, God of death. Like It's insane. Like the double standard. And just from a philosophical perspective, I really like this injustice, [00:07:31] which is like, if you're going to design a system of government, design it from behind the veil of ignorance, which is basically like take out of it what side you're on. If you were just plopped into a situation, you don't know where you're going to be placed in society, wouldn't you want that society to be fair? [00:07:51] This is this guy being unfair. Like it should be. Like, if the government's being bad, you should allow the investigative journalists to find through like what is illegal, fair process. If they find the secrets and what you're doing bad like you, [00:08:07] you can't stop them from reporting that we need them to report it. So you'll stop being bad. Because the bad thing is the bad thing. Like, you can't just set up the rules where if you expose that I'm being a jerk, you go to jail. Like that's insane on its face. Every time you ring the bell below, an angel gets his wings. [00:08:25] Totally not true. But it does keep you updated on our live shows.