Reporter says she was fired from Trump-friendly outlet after criticizing Hegseth
A pro-Donald Trump journalist says she was fired from her job after criticizing the president's secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, over his attempts to restrict media access at the Pentagon.
Gabrielle Cuccia, the former chief Pentagon correspondent for the far-right, Trump-friendly media outlet One America News (OAN), says she was terminated shortly after she published a Substack post accusing Hegseth's defense department of clamping down on press access. She had said the restrictions were disturbing, questioned the defense department's motives in tightening media restrictions, and noted that Hegseth has yet to hold a formal press conference since taking office.
Cuccia claimed the shift began after the controversy known as 'Signalgate', in which Hegseth – a former Fox News anchor – allegedly shared sensitive military details in a group chat that inadvertently included a well-known journalist from the Atlantic. According to Cuccia, that scandal marked the beginning of a broader effort to limit media interaction at the Pentagon.
'Let's be honest – since January, the real leaks from the Pentagon haven't come from the press,' she wrote in her Substack. 'They've come from Hegseth's own team and other senior officials.'
Alluding to Trump's Make America Great Again (Maga) movement and Russian election interference in the US, she added: 'As a MAGA girl myself, I cannot stand when we take something super serious and legitimate – such as the Russia Hoax – and conflate everything and anything that is an inconvenient truth, throw in the towel and say, 'Yep its just a Russia Hoax,' and then proceed to call people losers and liars for reporting something that was unfortunately … true.'
Cuccia pointed out how there has been only one press briefing under Hegseth's leadership of the Pentagon during Trump's second presidency, which began in January. None have been held after Signalgate, which occurred in March. Her breaking point reportedly came last week, when the Pentagon instituted a new policy requiring journalists to be escorted by public affairs staff to access Hegseth's office.
'The Pentagon wants to paint a picture that journalists are freely roaming classified spaces, sneaking into [sensitive compartmented information facilities], and leaking top-secret information. And that is simply not true,' the post said.
Officials justified the move by stating it would minimize the risk of accidental or unauthorized disclosures.
Cuccia also highlighted her conservative background in the post, emphasizing her ongoing loyalty to the conservative movement. She recalled her time at the University of Pennsylvania, where she said she was branded a 'racist' and a 'fascist' for not joining Black Lives Matter protests.
Despite her service to Maga, Cuccia told CNN that she was asked to turn in her Pentagon badge to her bureau chief after the Substack post about Hegseth's increased media restrictions.
Her resume includes a stint in the White House in 2017 and 2018, during Trump's first presidency. She then spent several years reporting for OAN and working as a government contractor.
One of Cuccia's past appearances on Newsmax, another far-right outlet, went viral after she echoed Trump's lies that electoral fraudsters ensured his defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Cuccia's remarks prompted the anchor to cut the segment short.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
16 minutes ago
- Times
Cancer ‘influencers' using social media to spread misinformation
Act now to keep your subscription We've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription.
Belfast Telegraph
19 minutes ago
- Belfast Telegraph
US Supreme Court asked to pause order reinstating Education Department staff
The Justice Department's emergency appeal to the high court on Friday said US District Judge Myong Joun in Boston exceeded his authority last month when he issued a preliminary injunction reversing the lay-offs of nearly 1,400 people and putting the broader plan on hold. Mr Joun's order has blocked one of Mr Trump's biggest campaign promises and effectively stalled the effort to wind down the department. A federal appeals court refused to put the order on hold while the administration appealed. The judge wrote that the lay-offs 'will likely cripple the department'. But Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote on Friday that Mr Joun was substituting his policy preferences for those of the Trump administration. The lay-offs help put in place the 'policy of streamlining the department and eliminating discretionary functions that, in the administration's view, are better left to the states', Mr Sauer wrote. He also pointed out that the Supreme Court in April voted 5-4 to block Mr Joun's earlier order seeking to keep in place Education Department teacher-training grants. The current case involves two consolidated lawsuits that said Mr Trump's plan amounted to an illegal closure of the Education Department. One suit was filed by the Somerville and Easthampton school districts in Massachusetts along with the American Federation of Teachers and other education groups. The other suit was filed by a coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general. The suits argued that the lay-offs left the department unable to carry out responsibilities required by Congress, including duties to support special education, distribute financial aid and enforce civil rights laws. Mr Trump has made it a priority to shut down the Education Department, though he has acknowledged that only Congress has the authority to do that. In the meantime, Mr Trump issued a March order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to wind it down 'to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law'. Mr Trump later said the department's functions will be parcelled to other agencies, suggesting federal student loans should be managed by the Small Business Administration and programmes involving students with disabilities would be absorbed by the Department of Health and Human Services. Those changes have not yet happened. The president argues that the Education Department has been overtaken by liberals and has failed to spur improvements to the nation's lagging academic scores. He has promised to 'return education to the states'. Opponents note that K-12 education is already mostly overseen by states and cities. Democrats have blasted the Trump administration's Education Department budget, which seeks a 15% budget cut including a 4.5 billion dollar cut in K-12 funding as part of the agency's downsizing.
South Wales Argus
19 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
US Supreme Court asked to pause order reinstating Education Department staff
The Justice Department's emergency appeal to the high court on Friday said US District Judge Myong Joun in Boston exceeded his authority last month when he issued a preliminary injunction reversing the lay-offs of nearly 1,400 people and putting the broader plan on hold. Mr Joun's order has blocked one of Mr Trump's biggest campaign promises and effectively stalled the effort to wind down the department. A federal appeals court refused to put the order on hold while the administration appealed. The judge wrote that the lay-offs 'will likely cripple the department'. But Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote on Friday that Mr Joun was substituting his policy preferences for those of the Trump administration. The lay-offs help put in place the 'policy of streamlining the department and eliminating discretionary functions that, in the administration's view, are better left to the states', Mr Sauer wrote. He also pointed out that the Supreme Court in April voted 5-4 to block Mr Joun's earlier order seeking to keep in place Education Department teacher-training grants. The current case involves two consolidated lawsuits that said Mr Trump's plan amounted to an illegal closure of the Education Department. One suit was filed by the Somerville and Easthampton school districts in Massachusetts along with the American Federation of Teachers and other education groups. The other suit was filed by a coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general. The suits argued that the lay-offs left the department unable to carry out responsibilities required by Congress, including duties to support special education, distribute financial aid and enforce civil rights laws. Mr Trump has made it a priority to shut down the Education Department, though he has acknowledged that only Congress has the authority to do that. In the meantime, Mr Trump issued a March order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to wind it down 'to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law'. Mr Trump later said the department's functions will be parcelled to other agencies, suggesting federal student loans should be managed by the Small Business Administration and programmes involving students with disabilities would be absorbed by the Department of Health and Human Services. Those changes have not yet happened. The president argues that the Education Department has been overtaken by liberals and has failed to spur improvements to the nation's lagging academic scores. He has promised to 'return education to the states'. Opponents note that K-12 education is already mostly overseen by states and cities. Democrats have blasted the Trump administration's Education Department budget, which seeks a 15% budget cut including a 4.5 billion dollar cut in K-12 funding as part of the agency's downsizing.
