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There were tears over the last few days as experienced journalists, many of whom covered conflicts around the world, surrendered their Pentagon press passes. There was anger, too, towards a woman who was supposed to be one of their own.
War/Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s third wife, Jennifer, née Rauchet, was a Fox News producer on Fox & Friends. Unlike her husband, Jennifer is not a talking Ken and actually has an undergraduate degree in journalism from Towson University in Maryland. Since 2006, Jennifer was employed by Fox News, eventually reaching Exec. Producer status (even if Fox & Friends and Watters World, the shows she worked on, were not considered “news shows,” even by Fox).
Long-term defense correspondents—can you call yourself a “war reporter” when you don’t leave Arlington, Virginia?—are convinced that Mrs. Hegseth was in on her husband’s plan to clamp down on unfriendly journalists covering his department.
Hegseth, 45, forced a confrontation with the media after barring all but a few credentialed journalists from most of the building without an escort. He is now demanding that publications sign a document agreeing that reporters cannot solicit or obtain any information about the department that isn’t explicitly authorized.
Now the (unappointed) First Lady of the DoD is getting flak for breaking up the Pentagon press pack. Her nickname among her husband’s colleagues is, not altogether surprisingly, “Yoko Ono.” Unfairly or not, Yoko took a big portion of the blame for splitting up The Beatles.
Mrs. Hegseth was in her husband’s infamous Signal chat group, which was informed about an impending military raid, and, according to the New York Times, she sat in on a private meeting he hosted to discuss ways of turning the screw on reporters.
According to the Wall Street Journal, she also joined him in at least two meetings involving the discussion of sensitive information. The departing Pentagon journos speculate and have no doubt that she talked the media crackdown through with her husband.
Most prominent media organizations have shunned Hegseth’s demands, including his (and his wife’s) old employer, Fox News. The deadline was 5 pm on Tuesday.
It’s not like they were getting much information from the Pentagon as it was. In fact, in the 10 months of the Trump administration, Hegseth gave just two formal press conferences. There have been no background briefings, which offer guidance to the media and were common under past administrations, particularly when the U.S. was involved in military action. And despite the administration’s claims about transparency, his office removed four news outlets from their Pentagon workspaces in late January, replacing them with MAGA-friendly media, including One America News Network and Breitbart News. When reporters complained, they removed another four.
Hegseth has also been particularly scathing about the reporting of Fox News Pentagon correspondent Jennifer Griffin, one of the most highly respected and experienced journalists covering the Defense Department.
And how did Precious Pete react to news outlets including The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Politico, NPR, The Hill and NewsNation, among others, refusing to sign his restrictions? With a goodbye emoji.
Word is the Pentagon Press Room is reopening on Wednesday. As a Botox Spa.
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The post The Secret Weapon in Pentagon Pete’s Media War Is Revealed appeared first on The Daily Beast.
