Overview

• The 17-page memo conditions Pentagon credentials on a signed promise not to obtain or publish material the department hasn’t approved for release, even if it is unclassified.
• Reporters face suspension or revocation for violations, with additional grounds including “unprofessional conduct” and attempts to obtain classified or controlled unclassified information.
• Access inside the building is further curtailed, with escorts required for most areas and new brightly colored badges, with rollout tied to expiring passes over the next two to three weeks.
• Officials defend the measures as basic security standards aligned with other military installations and say unauthorized disclosures risk national security and personnel safety.
• News organizations and press-freedom advocates condemn the policy as censorship, the Pentagon Press Association is reviewing it, and GOP Rep. Don Bacon joined critics calling it contrary to a free press.