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First Post
25-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
'Direct attack:' Pentagon Press Association slams Hegseth for imposing restrictions on media
Pentagon Press Association slammed US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth after the Department of Defence enforced new restrictions on media access read more US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth attends the annual White House Easter Egg Roll event, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 21, 2025. File Image/Reuters Journalists covering all the news about the US military called out the Pentagon and said that they are extremely concerned by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth 's constraints on press access at the Pentagon. They argued that the newest restrictions that were outlined on Friday night appeared to be a 'direct attack on the freedom of the press and America's right to know what its military is doing.' According to CNN, the condemnation came from the Pentagon Press Association after Hegseth announced 'additional credentialing procedures for press at the Pentagon in the interest of national security.' The changes were key parts of the Pentagon building off-limits to journalists unless they had an official escort. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to a Pentagon memo, more restrictions are likely to be imposed in the coming weeks. The Department of Defence argued that these measures are being undertaken to protect the country's military secrets. It is pertinent to note that the Friday announcement joined the list of measures taken by the US President Donald Trump's administration. Former news anchor who switched sides Hegseth himself was a former Fox News host, however, he has been distancing himself from his past soon after he took his role at the Department of Defence. As soon as Hegseth took charge, some of the country's biggest news outlets were booted from their dedicated Pentagon workspaces. Not only this, Hegseth assailed his former colleague Jennifer Griffin (Fox's national security correspondent) and other journalists. The Pentagon argued that these measures are being taken under a 'media rotation program'. Only smaller and explicitly pro-Trump news outlets have been getting inside access to the Trump administration. Pentagon eventually announced that the press briefing room would be closed 'when not in use for public briefings.' Top Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, a close friend of Hegseth's, has only held one press briefing to date. On Friday, Parnell argued that the access restrictions are 'pragmatic changes to protect operational security.' The memo outlining the restrictions said that 'while the department remains committed to transparency, the department is equally obligated to protect (classified intelligence) and sensitive information, the unauthorised disclosure of which could put the lives of US service members in danger.' Interestingly, in March Hegseth himself was accused of mishandling sensitive information , when he detailed the plans of US military operation in Yemen on a Signal group chat at accidentally included The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. The Press Association condemn the view According to CNN, the changes announced on Friday would make it more difficult for journalists to reach Hegseth. The restriction would 'eliminate the media's freedom to freely access press officers for the military services who are specifically hired to respond to press queries,' the Pentagon Press Association pointed out. The association represents scores of journalists who regularly cover the military. In a statement, the group maintained that it has been trying to reach out to Hegseth and his aides 'to keep in place a professional working relationship that has persisted for decades,' but to no avail. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The association maintained that it is 'puzzled' about why the Defence Department 'is devoting such attention to restricting Pentagon media instead of engaging with it as senior leaders have long done.' In the past, hegseth has denounced the media bu calling them 'hoax press' and promoted himself by appearing on Fox opinion shows hosted by his friends. Not only this, he enlisted right-wing content creators to increase the Defence Department's promotional efforts on social media. Mike Balsamo, the president of the National Press Club, said independent coverage of the military is in everyone's interest. 'It keeps voters informed, strengthens democratic oversight, and sends a clear message to the world that America stands for openness and accountability,' Balsamo said. 'Restricting access doesn't protect national security. It undermines public trust,' Balsamo said.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What does ‘being best' mean to Melania Trump now?
There she was. In the White House. Black leather pencil skirt. Pencil-thin heels. White blazer, draped like a cape over her shoulders. Melania Trump is not often seen inside these walls, let alone heard. But on Thursday, at a reception for military mothers, she gave her first public remarks there since President Donald Trump returned to office 108 days earlier. The first lady approached the lectern in the East Room. She thanked her husband, the president, for introducing her. A few people in the crowd clapped tentatively. Melania continued over them, she and the audience feeling for a rhythm like rusty dance partners. 'Motherhood ...,' the first lady began. The applause was no longer tentative, and she yielded to it. In the world of Trump's political movement - with many talkers, posters and flood-the-zone filibusterers - Melania's reticence has given her something of an oracular quality. 'It kind of reminds me of Greta Garbo,' says Katherine Jellison, a professor of history at Ohio University who studies first ladies, referring to the famous actress turned recluse whose rare public appearances incited frenzy. 'The relative rarity of Melania Trump's appearances do spark greater interest when she does show up.' When the first lady's guests finished applauding, they were silent, hanging on her every word. She picked up where she had left off about motherhood: 'The life-changing event that makes women invincible and exposed at the same time.' Melania described women's 'sacred strength' as 'unwavering love' and 'nurturing wisdom.' She urged the mothers in the room to 'prioritize your well-being,' because their health is 'the bedrock of a brighter future for our children.' Melania remains a bit of a mystery - unusual for a first lady in her second term, according to Jellison. Trump returned to Washington with a clear and immediate agenda for how he wanted to grow and exercise his power. His wife, not so much. But she made not one but two rare appearances on Thursday, speaking her maternal truth before an audience of military moms, then, a few hours later, returning to the East Room to unveil a postage stamp honoring former first lady Barbara Bush. And on Friday morning, her office announced that the $25 million in the president's budget to support youths transitioning out of foster care had been secured in recognition of the anniversary of Be Best, her signature first-term initiative. Melania hasn't been entirely invisible, or inaudible, in Washington. She spoke at a March event on Capitol Hill in support of a bill aimed at deterring the spread of nonconsensual explicit images (i.e. 'revenge porn') and an April ceremony honoring recipients of the International Women of Courage Award at the State Department. She attended her husband's first address to a joint session of Congress and the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, where she chatted with children and read them a story in the Amazon-sponsored reading nook. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) There was the trip she made with her husband to survey the wildfire devastation in California, shortly after Trump's swearing-in, where cameras captured Melania comforting victims in her native Slovenian. (So did a documentary film crew from Amazon, which struck a reported $40 million deal for a 'behind the scenes' look at Melania's life in the East Wing.) Late last month, she and Trump traveled to Rome for Pope Francis's funeral - but went their separate ways when the couple returned to the United States on April 26, which also happened to be Melania's 55th birthday. Nevertheless, in her second term, Melania appears to be keeping the trappings of her office at arm's length. The White House's gilded makeover has been at the direction of the president, assuming the first lady's traditional role of decorator in chief. In February, her office announced that public tours of the White House would resume, but it was Trump who showed up to greet visitors on the first day. And it was President Trump who greeted the East Room guests Thursday. His introductory remarks ran about three times as long as his wife's speech. He talked about the 'big deal with the U.K.' on trade and 'big rare earth deal with Ukraine' and the 'very big conversation in Switzerland taking place this weekend with China - has anyone heard of China recently?' In the spirit of Mother's Day, he recalled his own, a figure whom he seldom mentions. 'I had a great mother - I had a mother,' the president said. 'She was such an angel. She could be very tough, I will say. She had her tough moments - some difficult moments ... but overall, very, very good.' Anyway. Melania is 'one of the best moms that I know,' he said. 'Sometimes she's almost too good. She is so good with Barron that he's grown up strong and nice, and he's a good boy.' The first lady stared up at him with a closed-mouth smile, gently clapping her manicured hands together when he paused for applause. - - - The last time the Trumps were in the White House, Barron was dealing with the usual challenges of adolescence and the unusual ones of being the president's son. And motherhood seemed to shape Melania's ideas for what she could do as first lady. In her 2024 memoir, Melania recalled a particularly stinging episode of 'the poison of social media' when, a few weeks after the 2016 election, comedian Rosie O'Donnell wondered on Twitter about whether Barron, then 10, might be autistic, linking to a YouTube video suggesting as much. (The person who made the video later apologized, stating: 'I falsely correlated him trying to stay awake and occasionally doing quirky things with him suffering from autism.' O'Donnell also apologized.) 'The sheer malice of O'Donnell's act made me furious,' Melania wrote in her memoir, where she also noted that Barron is not autistic. 'There was a child at the other end of that tweet.' Stephen Balkam, the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Family Online Safety Institute, remembers talking to Melania at a roundtable he participated in with tech corporations and advocacy groups in 2018. With respect to her son, Balkam recalls the first lady raising a common parenting worry: 'She was very concerned about how much he was playing computer games,' he says. 'So we ended up talking about screen time and then, of course, cyberbullying itself.' Be Best had three pillars: the well-being of children, online safety and tackling opioid abuse. 'There is one goal to Be Best, and that is to educate children about the many issues they're facing today,' Melania announced in the Rose Garden on May 7, 2018 - a date her husband officially designated as 'Be Best Day,' via presidential proclamation. For the next few years, the first lady hosted conversations, made speeches and took trips to highlight her priorities. With such a small policy team, she often partnered with federal agencies to execute projects. (Her 2018 trip to Africa, for example, was done in conjunction with the U.S. Agency for International Development - which the new Trump administration has now gutted.) Be Best always had an irony problem. How could the first lady advocate against cyberbullying when her husband constantly turned to social media to bully those he saw as his political enemies? 'She isn't in lockstep with Trump on certain things,' says Kate Bennett, who previously covered the Trumps for CNN and wrote a book about Melania in 2019. 'Instead of getting credit for taking on cyberbullying, she was slammed for it.' The effort also struggled to measure its own impact. 'I think it was very well-intentioned, but I wasn't clear of what the goal was, ultimately, and what would look like success after four years of the project,' Balkam says. 'There didn't seem to be any benchmarks.' On Wednesday, Be Best Day passed almost without notice. The first lady had no public events; whether she was at the White House, her spokesperson did not say. Near the end of the day, her office issued a statement supporting the president's proclamation declaring May as National Foster Care Month, noting that it coincided with the Be Best anniversary. What, exactly, is Be Best this time around? Her office declined multiple requests to define the initiative on the record. There are clues, however, in Melania's public appearances and statements. That press release about National Foster Care Month said that Be Best 'supports children's well-being, including individuals within the foster care community.' There were Be Best-branded activities at the Easter Egg Roll, such as hopscotch and a station for writing letters to service members. Her guests for Trump's first address to a joint session of Congress included a 15-year-old high school student who had been bullied with digital deepfakes. Then there's her support for the anti-revenge-porn legislation, called the Take It Down Act. The first lady's staff reached out to the offices of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) early in Trump's second term to express interest in working on the bill. In March, Melania hosted a roundtable on Capitol Hill with lawmakers and advocates to bring attention to it. 'That's a great example of how a first lady's advocacy can be used well,' says Anita McBride, who served as chief of staff to Laura Bush and has written a book about first ladies. The bill has since passed both the House and Senate. There was little doubt that the legislation would get through Congress eventually, but Hill aides and advocates attribute Melania's support to the speed of the bill's passage. Melania returned to the East Room on Thursday afternoon for yet another event: the unveiling of a postage stamp honoring Barbara Bush to an audience of the former first lady's friends and former staffers - as well as some of her children, grandchildren and cousins, easily identified by their broad cheekbones and falcon noses. (Though there weren't as many Bushes present as there could have been. The stamp unveiling conflicted with an annual event hosted by former first lady Laura Bush. Of Barbara's kids, Neil and Doro were at the White House; Jeb, George and Marvin were not.) Melania sat onstage as representatives from the U.S. Postal Service and Barbara Bush's foundation delivered remarks, her feline stare flicking between the speakers and the audience. She broke into a smile only a few times - including when Doro Bush Koch recalled that she and the other Bush kids had a nickname for their mom: 'the Enforcer.' Then it was time for Melania to speak, again. She used her time to note the importance of 'strong American families,' where 'the principles of morality, ambition and empathy take root.' She highlighted Barbara's 'iconic' 1990 commencement speech at Wellesley College for how it encouraged young women to pursue their dreams. 'Who knows? Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps and preside over the White House - and I wish him well,' the first lady joked. Then she praised Barbara for how she 'supported women's empowerment, changed the national conversation on AIDS and took a stance supporting gay rights.' Melania revealed more of her personal beliefs in four minutes than she had in the previous four months. Then she vanished through the East Room's doors - invincible and exposed at the same time. Related Content For a Howard mom of three, earning her doctorate is a family victory Did McDonald's price itself out of a segment it dominated for decades? Trump tells Congress to raise taxes on the rich in budget bill
Winnipeg Free Press
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Report finds big drop in FBI's use of intelligence database to search for information on Americans
WASHINGTON (AP) — New federal statistics show a steep decrease in the number of times the FBI searched a vast foreign intelligence repository for information about Americans and others in the United States last year. The number of 'U.S. person queries' plunged from 57,094 in 2023 to 5,518 in 2024, according to the report published Monday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The report details the use of a surveillance program, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, that allows the U.S. government to collect without a warrant the communications of targeted foreigners located in other countries — including when they are in contact with Americans or other people inside the U.S. FBI director Kash Patel arrives on the South Lawn of the White House before President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump participate in the White House Easter Egg Roll Monday, April 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) National security officials have said the program is vital to protecting the country, but civil liberties advocates have condemned it as a violation of Americans' privacy. The report concludes that the decrease is due in large part to the adoption of tighter rules governing the program, including a requirement that the FBI enter a justification for a database query about an American before conducting it. The numbers have dropped consistently in recent years. In 2022, the FBI racked up nearly 120,000 U.S. person queries. Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up Former President Joe Biden signed legislation reauthorizing the surveillance law last year after debates over civil liberty protections nearly forced the statute to lapse. A key source of concern — uniting an unusual alliance of far-right Republican supporters of President Donald Trump with Democratic champions of civil liberties — is that FBI analysts have repeatedly run improper or unjustified database queries about people in the U.S. The surveillance tool was first authorized in 2008. The latest figures are included in an annual report, mandated by law, that provides statistical data about a broad array of the U.S. government's surveillance powers. The FBI had no immediate comment on the report.
Forbes
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Hegseth Signal Probe Reportedly Expanded To Include Second Group Chat—Here Are The Other Security Allegations Against Him
An evaluation into Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's use of Signal has been expanded to look into a second Signal group chat with his wife and lawyer in which he allegedly shared military plans, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday—the latest development in the fallout of Hegseth using the commercially available messaging app to share sensitive information. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives on the South Lawn of the White House before President Donald ... More Trump and first lady Melania Trump participate in the White House Easter Egg Roll Monday, April 21, in Washington. May 1The inspector general for the Defense Department expanded an evaluation he launched in April into Hegseth's use of Signal to also investigate military plans that were reportedly sent by Hegseth in a second group chat with his wife and personal lawyer, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a congressional aide and person familiar with the evaluation. April 24The Associated Press reported Hegseth had the unsecured internet connection—which has been used by other Pentagon officials, but can increase the likelihood of information being hacked—installed to use Signal on a personal computer. (A Pentagon spokesperson told the AP that Hegseth's communications systems are classified, but that 'the Secretary has never used and does not currently use Signal on his government computer.') April 22Hegseth did not deny he shared information in a second Signal chat about Houthi strikes when asked about it by reporters, but he said he only shared 'informal, unclassified coordinations.' April 21The New York Times reported Hegseth shared detailed information about Yemen strikes against Houthis in a second chat on the same day he shared the information in a chat with Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, though this time it was in a private Signal group with around a dozen people including his wife, brother and lawyer that Hegseth had created. April 20John Ullyot, a former chief Pentagon spokesperson, published an opinion piece in Politico alleging it had 'been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon' and 'the building is in disarray under Hegseth's leadership.' April 16Two Pentagon staffers, Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, were put on administrative leave, and they along with ex-Hegseth adviser Dan Caldwell released a statement three days later saying they had not been told why they were being investigated and were 'incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service' at the Pentagon ended. April 15Caldwell—a key Hegseth adviser who Hegseth had named as the best point of contact in the Signal chat about the Yemen strikes—was placed on administrative leave for 'an unauthorized disclosure.' April 3The inspector general of the Defense Department began an 'evaluation' into Hegseth's use of Signal at the request of the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., respectively, to determine whether any DoD policies were broken or classified information was shared. March 31White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the 'case has been closed … as far as we are concerned' and that 'there have been steps made to ensure that something like that can obviously never happen again.' March 26The Atlantic published screenshots of the messages sent on Signal from Hegseth and other officials that detailed attack plans for strikes on the Houthis, including precise launch times, descriptions of targets and weaponry. March 24Hegseth denied he had sent classified information and said 'nobody was texting war plans' and suggested Goldberg was 'deceitful and highly discredited,' though a National Security Council spokesperson confirmed the authenticity of the group Goldberg said he was added to. March 24Goldberg published an article alleging he was unintentionally included in a chat on Signal in which Hegseth and other top Trump administration officials discussed sensitive plans to attack Houthi targets in Yemen. Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We're launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day's headlines. Text 'Alerts' to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here. President Donald Trump has stood by Hegseth throughout the allegations of sharing classified information. Speaking to reporters Monday, Trump said Hegseth was 'doing a great job' and said reports on the Signal chats were 'a waste of time.' After the first report of Hegseth sending classified information in the chat with Goldberg, Trump had similar comments, and questioned whether Signal could have been the problem, saying from the White House: 'I think Signal could be defective to be honest with you ... it could be a defective platform.' Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., called for Hegseth to be removed after news of the second Signal chat broke over the weekend. He told Politico on Monday 'if it's true that he had another [Signal] chat with his family, about the missions against the Houthis, it's totally unacceptable . . . I wouldn't tolerate it if I was in charge.' Hegseth—a former Fox News host and military veteran—was sworn in as Trump's defense secretary on Jan. 25 after his nomination drew strong criticism. During his confirmation hearings, some Republicans joined Democrats in expressing concern over allegations about sexual misconduct, issues with excessive drinking and past mismanagement that they worried made him unfit for the position. Hegseth denied the allegations against him, including that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017 and that he was forced to leave a job because he had been drinking on the job. Vice President JD Vance had to break a 50-50 tie to confirm Hegesth as defense secretary after three Republicans voted against him. Hegseth Says 'Nobody Was Texting War Plans' After Atlantic Editor Claims He Was Part Of Signal Chat (Forbes) Trump Says He Knows 'Nothing' After Atlantic Editor's Bombshell Claim He Was In Signal Chat For War Plans (Forbes) Defense Department Inspector General Will Evaluate Pete Hegseth's Role In Signal Chat (Forbes) Signal Chat Leak: Trump Baselessly Suggests App 'Defective' (Live Updates) (Forbes) White House Says It's 'Moving Forward' From Signal Leak: 'This Case Has Been Closed' (Forbes)
Washington Post
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Hegseth in turmoil, Trump's sinking polls
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll in D.C. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) Senior politics reporter Aaron Blake talks with The Washington Post's chief correspondent covering national politics, Dan Balz, and national security reporter Abigail Hauslohner about new reporting this week about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hegseth's continued use of Signal, an unclassified messaging app, to share highly sensitive information has roiled the agency he oversees. They also unpack new polling that shows warning signs for Trump: public support for his legally dubious immigration policies have turned negative. Today's show was produced by Laura Benshoff with help from Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
