Pentagon argument of free access for press ‘a little overdrawn’: John Kirby

Former White House national security spokesperson John Kirby on Tuesday pushed back on an argument from the Pentagon about press access, calling it “a little overdrawn.”

“It makes very little sense to me,” Kirby, a retired Navy rear admiral and former Pentagon press secretary, said of the new press rules on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360.”

“The notion that they just walk freely, unfettered by any security protocols is just not accurate,” Kirby told anchor John Berman.

“Now, they do have more free rein at The Pentagon than they do at the State Department, for instance. But again, it’s all monitored. They have to wear badges. They’ve never had a problem wearing security badges. So, I think this argument is a little overdrawn,” he added.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a post on the social platform X on Monday that “Pentagon access is a privilege, not a right.”

“So, here is @DeptofWar press credentialing FOR DUMMIES,” he added in the post, listing off his rules for credentialing that included “Press no longer roams free,” “Press must wear visible badge” and “Credentialed press no longer permitted to solicit criminal acts.”

A majority of the nation’s leading news organizations said they were not going to sign a policy intensely limiting journalists’ access to the Pentagon prior to a Tuesday deadline from the Trump administration.

On Tuesday, President Trump defended Hegseth as he experienced blowback from a slew of media organizations on the new policy restricting access to the Defense Department.

“I think he finds the press to be very disruptive in terms of world peace,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “The press is very dishonest.”

The Hill has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.