Nearly all media outlets this week refused to sign on to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s new requirements for the press inside the Pentagon, citing First Amendment concerns. So, during his appearance on “The Late Show” Wednesday night, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper explained why and how the press actually works in Washington.
When Colbert brought up the situation, Cooper was quick to point out that CNN was among the media outlets that had not signed him, as was Hegseth’s former employer, Fox News. From there, Cooper debunked Hegseth’s portrayal of the media.
“First of all, what Secretary Hegseth said is just a lie,” he said. “He painted a portrait of a kind of journalists randomly wandering the halls of the Pentagon without credentials, barging into classified meetings and making their way aboard SEAL Team Six helicopters.”
“The idea that journalists just wander around and try to uncover state secrets by barging in and interrupting things – the Pentagon journalists who worked there, who worked there for many years, have badges. They know the rules. Nobody goes into classified areas. I mean, just the description of that is based on a lie.”
Cooper then emphasized how important it was to have journalists in the Pentagon, given the number of lies this administration (and many others) have told. The journalist added that journalists themselves are patriotic and want the best for the public.
“The American people deserve to know things,” Cooper said. “And if you think you want government officials — Democrats, Republicans, whoever’s in power — if you think you want people in power to spoon-feed you information, and you don’t get any other sort of information, I think that’s an incredibly dangerous thing.”
Indeed, the Trump administration’s new policy would require journalists not to engage in “solicitation” of military officials, and would require that they not publish anything that is not authorized for public release. So when the deadline to sign passed on Wednesday, the journalists turned in their badges and left the Pentagon.
But Cooper expressed some optimism on the matter, noting that these people will still be able to talk to their sources.
“There will be no office at the Pentagon, but you will still be able to contact,” he explained. “I mean, journalists who have worked at the Pentagon for years have many sources, and there are people in the Department of Defense who want to talk to journalists for various reasons.”
You can see Cooper’s thoughts on the situation in the video above.
