(Adnkronos) – Two days after the federal judge’s ruling declared unconstitutional the measure by which the Pentagon withdrew accreditation from hundreds of journalists, Pete Hegsteh’s Defense Department announced that it would ban journalists from accessing the entire building, moving the press room outside. The closure of the historic “Correspondents’ Corridor,” where journalists have worked and gathered news for decades, seems destined to achieve the same objective as the measure rejected by Judge Paul Friedman: to reduce journalists’ access and thus limit their ability to understand what the country’s armed forces are doing.
Immediately after the Pentagon spokesman announced, citing unspecified “security reasons,” that the press would be moved “to an annexed facility outside the Pentagon,” without, however, answering the question of where the press room would be until this new facility is ready, journalists spoke of retaliation for the ruling which last Friday ordered the Pentagon to restore accreditation to all those who last October had refused to sign the commitment not to seek unauthorized information for publication, even if unclassified.
In his ruling, Judge Paul Friedman emphasized how the current war with Iran makes it “more important than ever that the public have access to information from a variety of perspectives on what the government is doing.”
According to the New York Times, which filed the appeal accepted by the judge, the Pentagon’s new plan “does not comply with the judge’s order and continues to impose unconstitutional restrictions on the press; we will sue again.” The Pentagon Correspondents Association also spoke of “a clear violation of the letter and spirit of the ruling,” stating that “at a critical time like this, we ask the Pentagon why it chooses to restrict the vital freedom of the press that helps keep Americans informed.”
In the post announcing the measure, spokesman Sean Parnell said the Pentagon would comply with the ruling, even if it appeals against it. He also announced that accredited journalists will have to be escorted by Defense staff to enter the Pentagon for reasons other than briefings or interviews.
