The Pentagon has defended banning reporters from its press office by turning it into a classified room.
In the Trump administration’s latest move to hinder the media’s access to the Defense Department, the press office has been redesignated as a “Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility,” Acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez announced on X Monday.
Valdez said the switch-up was made because speechwriters from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office share the office, and they “routinely handle classified material and require SIPRNet access.”
SIPRNet, which stands for Secret Internet Protocol Router Network, allows the Defense Department and State Department to share classified information, according to The Hill.
“As a result, journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space. There’s nothing controversial about that,” Valdez said.
The new designation was first reported by The Washington Post. The Independent has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
This is a developing story…
