Latest news with #HaleyBritzky
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
The CNN reporter whose tweets annoyed Pete Hegseth so much he 'tried to ban her from overseas trip'
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attempted to kick a CNN reporter off his upcoming overseas trip after she criticized him in tweets, Status News reports. Haley Britzky, one of CNN's national security reporters, was initially chosen to serve as the designated television pooler on Hegseth's May 30 trip to Singapore, where he'll give a speech at a defense summit. However she was almost removed, after Pentagon officials became enraged over posts she shared which criticized Hegseth for clamping down on press freedom, Status reports. The majority of Britzky's feed on X has been focused on the May 23 decision by the Defense Department to no longer allow credentialed reporters to freely walk through the Pentagon's unclassified hallways. To get through much of the building, reporters now need to be escorted by authorized Pentagon staff. In a memo, Hegseth explained that this move was 'needed to reduce the opportunities for in-person inadvertent and unauthorized disclosures.' Britzky reposted many journalists who openly slammed the new policy as an attempt to stop them from doing their jobs. Oliver Darcy, the former CNN reporter who runs Status News, said he recently learned that Britzky's tweets 'irked' certain Pentagon officials who later tried to get her kicked off the trip. Britzky was tapped as the designated TV pool reporter as space on the trip was limited, meaning she would shared her work with the wider press. Following a 'brief standoff', per Status, she was allowed back on the junket. Her critical posts also included re-sharing one from a journalist who said the memo is ironic in light of Signalgate, in reference to the scandal where Hegseth accidentally shared details of a military strike with a journalist on the group messaging app Signal. In one of her posts, Britzky took an excerpt from the Pentagon Press Association's blistering rebuke of Hegseth. She focused on the part where the association said it would be glad to discuss maintaining operations security [OPSEC] with the Pentagon. The association claimed no such conversation has been offered by Hegseth or his team. 'Today's memo by Secretary Hegseth appears to be a direct attack on the freedom of the press and America's right to know what its military is doing,' the association said in an open letter. 'The Pentagon Press Corps has had access to non-secured, unclassified spaces in the Pentagon for decades, under Republican and Democratic administrations, including in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, without any concern about OP-SEC from DoD leadership. 'This decision eliminates the media's freedom to freely access press officers for the military services who are specifically hired to respond to press queries.' Pictured: Haley Britzky's tweets over the last week that allegedly endangered her spot on the Singapore trip According to Status News, Britzky merely expressing support for these messages was enough for Pentagon officials to consider axing her from the Asia trip. This then prompted other reporters who were also traveling with Hegseth to threaten not going, depriving him of media coverage, Status News reported. That threat is reportedly what got the Pentagon to relent and allow Britzky on the trip after all. approached the Pentagon, CNN and Britzky for comment. Hegseth's desire to restrict press access to the Pentagon comes more than two months after he shared the details of a US military strike on Signal, an unsecured group messaging app. Unbeknownst to Hegseth, Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic, had been inadvertently added to the chat and could see top national security officials openly discussing upcoming airstrikes in Yemen against the Houthis. After the strikes went ahead on March 15 as planned, Goldberg penned a bombshell article on March 24 claiming he knew two hours before. On March 26, he published a follow up piece that included all the screenshots of the chat, whose participants included former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance and Hegseth. On April 20, it emerged that Hegseth shared military attack details in a second Signal group chat with his wife, brother and personal lawyer. And on April 30, it was reported that Hegseth had a third chat discussing sensitive foreign policy matters that included his wife, Pentagon Chief Spokesman Sean Parnell and fellow former Fox producer Tami Radabaugh. Hegseth faced calls to resign, but those demands have gradually waned over time. President Donald Trump has also stood by embattled defense secretary, telling reporters shortly after Easter that 'Pete's doing a great job.'
RNZ News
29-04-2025
- General
- RNZ News
US Navy loses $100 million jet at sea after it fell overboard from aircraft carrier
By Haley Britzky and Natasha Bertrand , CNN This 1 April photo from the US Navy shows a F/A-18E Super Hornet preparing for launch on the USS Harry S. Truman. Photo: US Navy A US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet has been "lost" at sea after it fell overboard from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier while it was being towed on board, the Navy said in a statement. A US official said that initial reports from the scene indicated that the Truman made a hard turn to evade Houthi fire, which contributed to the fighter jet falling overboard. The Houthi rebel group claimed on Monday to have launched a drone and missile attack on the aircraft carrier, which is in the Red Sea as part of the US military's major anti-Houthi operation. All personnel are accounted for, and one sailor sustained a minor injury. "The F/A-18E was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard," the statement said. "Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway." A second US official told CNN that the aircraft had sunk. An individual F/A-18 fighter jet costs more than $60 million (NZD$100m), according to the Navy. The Truman Carrier Strike Group is currently deployed in the Middle East and was in the Red Sea at the time of the incident. The Navy emphasized on Monday that the strike group and its air wing "remain fully mission capable." The Truman has repeatedly been targeted in attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. It made headlines in February when it collided with a merchant ship near Egypt; no injuries were reported. Another F/A-18 from the Truman was also "mistakenly fired" upon and shot down by the USS Gettysburg in the Red Sea in December ; both pilots ejected safely. -CNN
