The immediate closure of the traditional corridor used by correspondents in the Pentagon forces journalists to work from an alternative space outside the main building, a measure that responds to the recent judicial decision that considered the control over press accreditations unconstitutional. According to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, through social media, an annex has been planned to accommodate the media, which will be available as soon as the necessary preparations are completed. In the meantime, the Department of Defense maintains an active appeal against the sentence, although it complies with the current judicial guidelines. According to the International media, the Pentagon announced on Monday the closure of the so-called correspondent corridor, a space that for decades allowed direct access for the press to sources within the Department of Defense. The decision to restrict unaccompanied access is justified, according to Parnell, by the impossibility of effectively assessing the security risks that some accredited people may represent. In this way, all coverages, press conferences and interviews will require journalists to be accompanied by authorized personnel. The ruling was issued by Judge Paul Friedman, of the District of Columbia, siding with The New York Times in the lawsuit against the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and the control policy applied to journalists. According to what was published by Internacional, the court described as excessive the zeal demonstrated by the authorities of the Department in the administration of credentials, and considered that constitutional rights were violated by restricting usual access.
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In response to this failure, Sean Parnell reported that the Department has issued a revised version of the regulation governing the Pentagon’s reservation for the media. This update, effective immediately, maintains the premise of supervised access: all information professionals must be accompanied to move within the facilities. However, the credentials issued will continue to validate entry to conferences, press conferences, and previously scheduled interviews through the public relations offices. The Department of Defense insists on its position of collaborating with the accredited press, guaranteeing transparency in the coverage of internal activities and procedures, as reported by International. At the same time, the revised policy seeks to safeguard the security of personnel and facilities, a task that, according to Parnell, cannot be reconciled with the authorization of free access for unaccompanied correspondents. While the annex intended to house the media outside the main building is being prepared, journalists will have to adjust their daily work to the new parameters. The Pentagon has not specified an exact date for the commissioning of the new space, although it has assured that the measure complies strictly with the court order and the revised internal policy. This situation will remain while the higher judicial body does not resolve the appeal filed by the defense of the current administration.Finally, in the statements collected by Internacional, the Pentagon spokesperson emphasized that although there is a discrepancy with the ruling, the Department always complies with judicial decisions. He added that the review of the rules seeks to balance access to information with the need to protect the facilities and personnel under its responsibility.
