Latest news with #mediaaccess
Fox News
an hour ago
- General
- Fox News
Federal judge delivers one-two punch to Trump in Abrego Garcia case
A federal judge granted a request Wednesday from more than a dozen major news outlets and publishers to unseal certain records in the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Salvadorian migrant and alleged MS-13 member who was deported from Maryland to El Salvador in March in what administration officials have acknowledged was an administrative error. Separately on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis granted a request from Abrego Garcia's legal team to file a motion for sanctions against the Trump administration. That filing is due June 11, she said in an order. The one-two punch from Xinis could give plaintiffs new ammo to pursue more formal punishments against the Trump administration if officials are found to have been acting in bad faith or knowingly defying court orders. It will also give new access to media outlets covering the case. Xinis agreed to grant in part a request from a group of 14 major media outlets and publishers – including Fox News, NBC News, CBS News, New York Times, the Washington Post and NPR – who filed a motion to unseal records in the Abrego Garcia case, citing concerns over the lack of public access, as well as over government efforts, or lack thereof, to facilitate his return to the U.S. In her order, Xinis agreed with the contention of the news outlets – referred to jointly as the "Press Movants" – that the public "enjoys a presumptive right to access court records, overcome only when outweighed by competing interests." As such, Xinis ordered the Trump administration to unseal a handful of documents that have so far been filed under seal, as part of a protracted legal battle over the status of Abrego Garcia. Xinis also ordered them to unseal a transcript from an April 30 hearing in his case. "The right to public access of court records remains critical to promoting 'trustworthiness of the judicial process, to curb judicial abuses, and to provide the public with a more complete understanding of the judicial system, including a better perception of fairness,'" she said Wednesday. The order comes amid a months-long court fight over the status of Abrego Garcia, who remains in El Salvador. Xinis in April ordered the Trump administration to comply with an expedited discovery schedule to determine whether they were complying with the directive to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S., which was upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this year. Since then, she has struggled to ascertain the status of Abrego Garcia, or efforts made to return him to the U.S. Trump officials, for their part, have repeatedly alleged that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, though any formal ties remain unproven. Lawyers for the government and Abrego Garcia's attorneys have sparred with Xinis in court over what exactly it means to "facilitate" his return – a months-long fight that Xinis most recently described as beating a "frustrated and dead horse." Xinis previously took aim at what she deemed to be the lack of information submitted to the court as part of an expedited discovery process she ordered last month, describing the government submissions as "vague, evasive and incomplete" responses, and which she said demonstrated "willful and bad faith refusal to comply with discovery obligations." The order is the latest development in the ongoing feud between Trump officials and the courts over the use of the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime immigration law used earlier this year to quickly deport migrants from the U.S. To date, the Trump administration has not knowingly complied with any court orders to return migrants who were removed and sent to El Salvador in the early wave of deportation flights, despite earlier court orders from Xinis, Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and others. It is unclear whether Xinis plans to begin contempt proceedings against the administration, though the federal judge in D.C. said earlier this year that he had found probable cause to do so.
CBS News
an hour ago
- General
- CBS News
Judge orders tranche of documents in Kilmar Abrego Garcia case to be made public
Washington — The federal judge overseeing the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia ordered a batch of documents to be unsealed Wednesday in response to a request from a media coalition that includes CBS News. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said seven records must be be made available on the public docket for Abrego Garcia's case, though one of the documents contains redactions. She also said the transcript from an April 30 hearing will be partially unsealed and include redactions that aim to protect potentially classified information or other sensitive material. Xinis' order was in response to a request to unseal court records made by more than a dozen news organizations, including CBS News. The judge found that the media outlets "rightly contend that, at common law, the public enjoys a presumptive right to access court records, overcome only when outweighed by competing interests." The Justice Department opposed the request to make the records public on two grounds: the filings in question are discovery materials that are typically not available to the press and the public; and keeping the documents sealed is needed to protect national security and prevent sensitive information from being disseminated. As to those arguments, Xinis said "neither withstand scrutiny." One batch of three documents had been available to the public but were then sealed following an April hearing. Another record is a three-page Justice Department request to pause for one week the court's order to turn over certain information about efforts to facilitate Abrego Garcia's release from Salvadoran custody. The document that contains redactions is from Abrego Garcia's lawyers and urged the judge to maintain the original deadlines for information to be produced. The final records made public are a brief, one-sentence notice and additional request from the Justice Department for Xinis to pause proceedings to avoid interfering with efforts to "resolve this litigation." Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran migrant who had been living in Maryland since he arrived in the U.S. illegally in 2011. He was arrested in March and deported to El Salvador, where he was initially held in the notorious maximum-security Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT, with a group of more than 230 men, mostly Venezuelans, accused of being gang members. The State Department said in April that Abrego Garica had been moved to a lower-security facility in Santa Ana. But the Trump administration has acknowledged that Abrego Garcia's deportation to El Salvador was a mistake, as he had been granted a legal status in 2019 known as withholding of removal that forbade the Department of Homeland Security from removing him to his home country of El Salvador because he was likely to face persecution by local gangs. The Trump administration has claimed Abrego Garcia is a member of the gang MS-13, citing an allegation from a confidential informant and the clothes he was wearing when he was arrested in 2019, after which he was released from custody. His lawyers have denied Abrego Garcia has any ties to MS-13, and said he has never been charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. or El Salvador. The Trump administration is seeking to dismiss Abrego Garcia's case.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
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.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Pro-MAGA reporter fired after questioning why Pete Hegseth hides from the media
Gabrielle Cuccia, a self-described 'MAGA girl' who served as One America News' chief Pentagon correspondent, says the far-right network fired her after she criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's war against the free press. In a blistering Substack post on Tuesday, Cuccia – who served in the first Trump administration – tore into the Pentagon for limiting media access and blasted Hegseth for not holding one press briefing since taking over as the head of the Defense Department. Specifically, she took issue with the agency closing off portions of the Pentagon that had previously always been open to reporters. 'He claims it's to 'reduce the opportunity for in-person inadvertent or unauthorized disclosures.' But let's be honest — since January, the real leaks from the Pentagon haven't come from the press. They've come from Hegseth's own team and other senior officials,' she wrote. 'I personally know reporters who've sent formal emails to Hegseth's office requesting clarification on specific topics — and received radio silence in return,' Cuccia added. 'Let's call this what it is: limiting freedom of movement in the name of 'national security.'' Making sure to burnish her pro-Trump bona fides, Cuccia noted that it is 'pretty obvious how I feel about fake news outlets like CNN, MSNBC, CBS, and ABC,' adding that she thinks 'their obsession with advocating for transgender inclusion in the military is a complete waste of time and taxpayer resources.' At the same time, though, she noted that while their 'coverage may not be my cup of tea,' it 'doesn't mean I stand behind Hegseth's decision' to limit reporters' movements through the Pentagon. 'It also raises a fair question: why has the Department prioritized limiting press access, while the Secretary of Defense himself has yet to hold a briefing in the press room during his first 100 days?' Cuccia also asked. Two days after she published her fateful Substack post, Cuccia told CNN that her bureau chief asked her to turn in her Pentagon badge. The following days, she said, she was fitted by the network. Asked to comment on the circumstances surrounding Cuccia's termination, OAN president Charles Herring told The Independent that 'we don't comment on employee related issues.' 'On Thursday, my Pentagon badge was revoked. By Friday, I was out of a job,' Cuccia told The Independent. 'The timing came just days after I published a personal Substack article raising legitimate concerns about new restrictions placed on journalists inside the Pentagon — an article my employer later confirmed had been 'put on their radar.'' She continued: 'When a reporter asks inconvenient questions about government overreach, the response should be accountability — not silence, and certainly not separation. You can love your country and still challenge those who govern it. I've never been afraid to speak the truth, even when it costs me. My loyalty is — and always will be — to my country above all else. And for those reasons, this isn't the end.' The Independent also asked Cuccia if she was aware if OAN had tapped anyone else to replace her yet as the network's top Pentagon reporter. 'I can confirm I have been contacted by potential new hires to fill my role asking how to do the job, what are the expectations, what qualifies as conflicts of interest within the role, and what my experience was like with OAN,' she said. 'I was told that OAN is seeking to fill this role as soon as today, Monday, June 2nd.' Cuccia, who had briefly worked for OAN as a White House correspondent towards the end of the first Trump administration, was re-hired by OAN in February to lead its defense coverage after Hegseth took away NBC's longtime workspace and handed it to the MAGA channel. This was, of course, part of the administration's larger effort to push out mainstream media outlets and elevate sympathetic right-wing coverage. Initially elated with the opportunity, Cuccia would take to her social media accounts to document how she personally renovated the old NBC office into what she deemed 'Liberty Lounge.' Still, her joy soon grew into skepticism and disillusionment over the way Hegseth handled the Signalgate scandal. 'Our SecDef told us that it was Fake News. That it was another Russia Hoax,' she noted. '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 insisted that following Signalgate, 'the Pentagon stopped all press briefings moving forward and simultaneously decided to lock one of the doors that connects journalists to the DoD's Public Affairs Officials, a door that has always been wide open.' She also took Hegseth to task for the 'cheap PR move' of using the Memorial Day weekend to 'conveniently' announce that reporters are no longer allowed access to the offices of the Secretary of Defense or the Joint Chiefs without an official escort. 'This Administration, to my surprise, also locked the doors to the Pentagon Briefing room, a protocol that was never in place in prior Administrations, and a door that is never locked for press at the White House,' she wrote. 'The Commander-in-Chief welcomes the hard questions… and yes, even the dumb ones. Why won't the Secretary of Defense do the same?' Cuccia rhetorically asked. Since telling CNN on Friday that she was fired by OAN, Cuccia has since changed her X profile to read 'Fmr Chief Pentagon Correspondent' and posted a story on her Instagram that included a screenshot of her Substack article. 'You know… I was once told that a former peer feared I was too MAGA for this job,' she captioned the story. 'I guess I was. I guess I am.' Throughout her Substack post, she asserted that her intention in sounding off against the DoD press policy was to 'tear down' Hegseth, but due to her 'wanting to keep MAGA alive.' She also repeatedly used the phrase 'love your country, not your government,' which is a slogan she's emblazoned on tank tops that she began selling on Etsy last year. Prior to returning to OAN this year, Cuccia had drawn attention to herself by posing with firearms on her social media accounts, hawking her MAGA-branded merchandise, and once causing a Newsmax host to cut off her mic after she began peddling Trump's baseless 2020 election fraud claims on the air. Newsmax, like One America News, has been sued multiple times for defamation for amplifying election denialism and voting machine conspiracy theories. If she was indeed fired for criticizing Hegseth and the administration, this wouldn't be the first time that OAN has terminated an employee for speaking out publicly. Back in 2021, the right-wing cable channel fired producer Marty Golingan after he told the New York Times on the record that many network staffers don't think many of OAN stories are factual. One America News, which had been facing an existential crisis after losing nearly all of its cable and satellite contracts in recent years over its conspiratorial coverage, appears to be on the upswing since Trump's return to the White House. Besides taking over NBC's office space in the Pentagon, the network hired former GOP congressman (and one-time attorney general nominee) Matt Gaetz as a primetime host, and White House senior adviser Kari Lake announced last month that she struck a deal with the channel to blast out its content on Voice of America's airwaves. Cuccia isn't the only conservative media figure who has scrutinized the Pentagon press crackdown. After CNN first reported on her firing, Fox News media host Howie Kurtz highlighted the criticism over Hegseth's actions against the media and brought on former CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr to blast the defense secretary (and former Fox News host) for restricting press access.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Inside the Pentagon, she crossed a line with Pete Hegseth - now she's out and feeling VERY scorned
A pro-MAGA reporter who criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's treatment of the press at the Pentagon lost her job after speaking out. Gabrielle Cuccia is a proud 'MAGA girl' who has long been outspoken about her adoration of President Trump. But while working as the chief Pentagon correspondent at pro-Trump television channel One America News, Cuccia published a tell-all article to her personal Substack channel about the pitfalls of Hegseth's leadership. 'If you want the best case study for the death of the MAGA movement — look no further than the Department of Defense,' she wrote. 'People sleep on the Pentagon. They don't realize what's been simmering at the bottom for weeks, months, sometimes even years.' Cuccia had expressed concerns Hegseth was blocking media access in the wake of his Signal scandal, in which a journalist was unintentionally added to a group chat with Hegseth were he openly shared sensitive details about an impending strike on Houthi targets in Yemen. From that moment onwards, Cuccia said Hegseth shut down crucial communication points between the press and his staff in an effort to 'reduce the opportunity for in-person inadvertent or unauthorized disclosures.' 'Think of every time you hear a journalist reference a source as 'Defense Official' or something abstract… a lot of times, it's coming from these guys,' she revealed about the Pentagon press office. 'And they are always there to provide additional context, field questions, and relay the reality of ops in an unclassified manner.' Her article was published on Monday. By Thursday, her boss had asked her to hand in her Pentagon access badge, and on Friday she was fired, she told CNN. Cuccia criticized Hegseth for his lack of transparency, noting he had failed to deliver press conferences and alleged his team would deliberately hide details of his schedule until it was too late for media representatives to attend. 'Over at the White House, the Administration understands the freedom of the press, and keeps the door open anyway,' she said. 'They would certainly not field questions *before* said press briefing.' Cuccia alleged that during one press briefing, staff for Hegseth reached out to her to find out what question she would ask if she were called upon at a conference. She told them, thinking they simply 'wanted to be prepared for their very first press briefing to answer questions with as much info in response as possible. Unfortunately that was not the case.' 'This article isn't to serve as a tearing down of the SecDef,' she wrote. 'This is me wanting to keep MAGA alive. 'Despite my loyalty to this movement, we are killing ourselves.' Cuccia said the power of the MAGA movement was sparked in 2015, when 'America came alive' on the back of a 'shared realization we weren't going to blindly accept our government as Bible anymore.' Cuccia had expressed concerns Hegseth was blocking the media from reasonable access in the wake of his Signal scandal, in which a journalist was unintentionally added to a group chat where Hegseth openly shared sensitive details about an impending strike on Houthi targets in Yemen Since then, she said there has been a pointed shift away from the core values of the movement. 'Somewhere along the way, we as a collective decided — if anyone ever questioned a policy or person within the MAGA movement — that they weren't MAGA enough. 'I will always be MAGA, but consider this a love letter to what we have lost, what we must regain, and my final plea to Love Your Country, Not Your Government.' Cuccia broke her public silence over her axing on Saturday, writing on Instagram: 'I was once told that a former peer feared I was too MAGA for the job. 'I guess I was. I guess I am.'
