Hegseth Tries New Approach To Plugging Pentagon Leaks: Threatening to Revoke Reporters’ Credentials

Michael Luciano Sep 19th, 2025, 10:46 pm

Mark Schiefelbein/AP photo

The Department of Defense will now require journalists at the Pentagon to sign a pledge promising not to use unauthorized information – even if it is unclassified – in their reporting, according to a report that was published on Friday night.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been combating suspected leakers in his department, and at one point even threatened Pentagon employees with polygraph tests in an effort to ascertain who had been talking to the press.

Journalists at the Pentagon who refuse to sign the pledge or who the department deems a security threat will have their press credentials terminated.

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