“A well-informed citizenry is at the heart of a dynamic democracy,” reads a quotation often attributed to Thomas Jefferson, as it “provides the best defense against tyranny.”

Recent restrictions by the newly renamed Department of War on news organizations come straight out of the playbook of aspiring authoritarians. On the eve of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Americans should recoil at this attempt to deprive them of the information they need to hold the government accountable for its actions.

In January, a week after the Senate confirmed Pete Hegseth as secretary of Defense, he removed The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and NBC journalists from offices assigned to them at the Pentagon. He gave slots instead to three conservative outle

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