Here Are The 15 Remaining Reporters Inside the Pentagon — Including 3 From Turkish State Media

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

The Pentagon was left with 15 reporters inside the building on Thursday afternoon, following Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s deadline for media outlets to sign onto his new restrictions taking effect.

The Washington Post’s media reporter Scott Nover detailed exactly who was left to cover the largest government agency.

Pro-MAGA outlets The Federalist, the Epoch Times, and OAN all signed Hegseth’s pledge, which said that journalists are banned from soliciting or obtaining any information that is not pre-approved by the Pentagon.

Nover reported on the other remaining people in the building: “A reporter for the Turkish newspaper Akşam signed the agreement, as did three individuals from the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency and two Turkish freelancers. Other signers included a reporter for the Australian, a News Corp-owned Australian paper; an Afghan freelancer; and three lesser-known operations, AWPS News, the India Globe and a blog called USA Journal Korea.” He added:

Two people from Jordanian TV broadcaster Al Taghier signed the wrong version of the press policy. (The policy was updated after pushback from the Pentagon Press Association, which represents the Defense Department press corps, and the press freedom group Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.)

Conservative outlets, including Newsmax and Fox News, all refused to sign the pledge. Most outlets released statements condemning the move as a violation of the First Amendment and an unprecedented government crackdown on free speech.

Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic, put out a statement on Monday saying, “The Atlantic’s journalists will not sign the Pentagon’s press policy. We fundamentally oppose the restrictions that the Trump administration is imposing on journalists who are reporting on matters of defense and national security.”

He added, “The requirements violate our First Amendment rights, and the rights of Americans who seek to know how taxpayer- funded military resources and personnel are being deployed. We will continue to cover matters of defense, war, and national security independently and fairly.”

Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s main spokesperson, released a statement blaming journalists for the sudden purge of media inside the building, “The policy does not ask for them to agree, just to acknowledge that they understand what our policy is. This has caused reporters to have a full blown meltdown, crying victim online. We stand by our policy because it’s what’s best for our troops and the national security of this country.”