Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new task force to identify and prosecute those who leak Pentagon information.
“To combat the dangers that leaks pose, effectively immediately, I have delegated tasking authority to the war department’s office of general counsel, empowering OGC to request and receive all information, records and support across the department concerning media leak investigations,” he said in a video statement.
“Leaked information risks lives, these new tools and processes will greatly assist us in protecting our joint force,” Hegseth added. “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.”
He thanked Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for his assistance in the project, and celebrated that the Department of War and the Department of Justice are working together.
Hegseth’s announcement comes days after the DOJ issued subpoenas to reporters at The New York Times after the paper shared security details regarding President Trump’s new Air Force One. The subpoenas were met with criticism.
“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” an attorney for the newspaper, David McCraw, said in a statement.
“Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used,” he added. “This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs.”
