Key Points
- Pete Hegseth announced the creation of a joint task force with the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and pursue news reports based on leaked national security information originating from the Pentagon.
- The move follows subpoenas issued to reporters at The New York Times over a story concerning security concerns tied to one of President Donald Trump’s Air Force One aircraft, with additional reporting later corroborated by The Wall Street Journal.
- While prior administrations, including that of President Barack Obama, also pursued leak investigations, critics argue the current approach by the Trump administration is more confrontational given the president’s public rhetoric toward the press.
Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News Channel morning show host that became a member of President Donald Trump‘s administration last year, has announced a new joint task force with the U.S. Department of Justice aimed at cracking down on news reports based on leaks that originate from the military’s headquarters.
On Monday, Hegseth — who serves as the U.S. Defense Secretary under Trump — said the Pentagon’s Office of General Counsel was now tasked with issuing requests for records and other information when news stories are based on national security documents and other classified information.
The joint task force was formed after numerous reporters from the New York Times were issued subpoenas connected to a news story about security concerns involving Air Force One, the aircraft used by the U.S. president. Trump has two version of Air Force One at his disposal — one he inherited from former President Joseph Biden upon his inauguration, and another one gifted to him by the government of Qatar.
The Times story concerned the latter plane. The story — which was vetted by competing news organizations — said Trump was forced to fly from Türkiye aboard the other plane because the Qatar-issued one lacked certain security defenses. Intelligence officials received warning of a possible plot to assassinate Trump during his trip home, the Wall Street Journal later reported.
After the story was first published by the Times, federal law enforcement officers were sent to the homes of reporters with subpoenas, the newspaper said. The subpoenas were delivered during the early morning hours at the personal homes of some reporters, the organization asserted.
During the Trump administration, other reporters — including a Washington Post journalist — have faced similar legal actions in connection with national security stories. Trump himself is known to sue, in a personal capacity, journalists and news organizations that publish news he considers unflattering.
Trump is not the first president to target reporters for national security-related leaks: The Obama administration launched hundreds of probes and issued subpoenas seeking information about unauthorized national security disclosures. One of the largest in history — the leak of thousands of documents by former analyst-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden to reporters — occurred during the Obama administration.
But the Trump administration’s crackdown is particularly problematic, in part because Trump has made numerous public statements demeaning the news media as the “enemy of the people” and suggesting reporters face loss of liberty or acts of violence for doing their jobs.
The pact announced by Hegseth on Monday was the latest indication that the Trump administration had little tolerance for any news that doesn’t come with the blessing of the White House first.
“Leaked information risks lives, these new tools and processes will greatly assist us in protecting our joint force,” Hegseth said in a statement. “The security of our nation cannot be a bargaining chip for those who seek momentary headlines, access to confidential and secret information is a sacred trust, and those who betray that trust will be met with the full force of the law.”
There is no proof that the Times report or efforts by competing news outlets to match it led to any national security problems. Often, public officials cite security issued when confronted with unflattering news-driven attention.
The actions of the Trump administration to crack down on unfavorable reporting has been met with push-back from many major news outlets, including Hegseth’s former employer Fox News. Last year, the outlet was one of several to condemn a policy Hegseth endorsed that restricted access to the Pentagon that was routinely available to reporters. Fox also declined to sign a Hegseth-endorsed contract with the Pentagon that promised to seek permission before soliciting information from government employees, and joined the White House Correspondents’ Association in opposing efforts to reduce access to a press office near the Oval Office of the White House.
