DEFENSE DECORUM

Hegseth Unleashes Bizarre Threat to Pentagon Reporters

The latest episode fits a broader pattern of press crackdowns by the former Fox & Friends host.

A security agent for Pete Hegseth threatened to physically remove reporters from his press conference if they did not “maintain decorum,” marking the latest apparent attempt by the Pentagon to crack down on press freedom.

As Congress moves to potentially impeach Hegseth over the Iran war and other alleged abuses of power, the controversial defense secretary gave his first press conference in about six months on Tuesday to mount a furious defense of his record.

But according to journalists in the room, a Pentagon official working for Hegseth warned reporters that they would be physically evicted if they got out of line.

“A security agent for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth just warned the reporters here—for Hegseth’s first press conference in 6 months—that we will be physically removed from the briefing room if we are not professional and maintain decorum,” Washington Post correspondent Tara Copp wrote on X, alongside a photo of the briefing room this morning.

“We asked if that meant no shouted questions and got no clarity. It’s the first time any of us could ever remember being threatened like this. Shouted questions are normal. ‘This is crazy town,’ one journalist said, noting the White House has never threatened reporters like that.”

The account was backed up by Vanity Fair’s Washington Correspondent Aidan McLaughlin.

“At Pete Hegseth’s briefing this morning, an official came out to tell reporters that if anyone “gets out of line” they will be “removed physically.” Reporters shouted back “what does that mean?” Official said it meant to maintain “decorum” and added he was just relaying orders,” McLaughlin posted.

SIMPER FI

Pentagon Pete Stages Unhinged Meltdown Over Impeachment Bid

Farrah Tomazin

“A few minutes later, DOD press aide Joel Valdez walked out and said he would explain the orders off the record. Reporters asked for it to be on background. Valdez looked down at the floor and then walked out of the room without saying anything.”

The Daily Beast has reached out to the Pentagon for comment on the episode, which fits a broader pattern of press crackdowns under Hegseth—and of his reputation for carefully managing his on-camera image.

MIRROR, MIRROR

Pentagon Pete Throws Wild Vanity Tantrum While Fighting War

Farrah Tomazin

Last year, for instance, the Pentagon required reporters to sign off on new rules governing access and information-gathering to obtain a media pass.

Many traditional national security reporters refused to sign on, allowing the expansion of MAGA-friendly outlets across outlets such as Lindell TV (run by conspiracy theorist and My Pillow Guy chief Mike Lindell), Breitbart News, and the Gateway Pundit.

Hegseth also came under fire last year after reports that a green room near the Pentagon briefing area had been modified with mirrors and lighting so officials could prepare for television appearances.

Initial renovation ideas were estimated to cost tens of thousands of dollars before being scaled back, though Hegseth publicly dismissed the coverage as a “fake story.”

And in March this year, the Pentagon reportedly banned some photographers from briefings on Trump’s war in Iran after Hegseth’s staff found certain photos of the defense secretary “unflattering.”

A spokeswoman for Hegseth also rejected this at the time, telling the Daily Beast that space in the briefing room was limited, so they had to limit the number of uncredentialed photographers.

Monday’s press conference was the first to be held at the Pentagon since May, and comes a day after Republican Rep. Thomas Massie introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth.

These include accusing Hegseth of waging war against Iran without congressional approval, authorizing extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean Sea, kidnapping a sovereign foreign leader in Venezuela, and waging an unlawful war in Yemen.

Notably, one article also accuses Hegseth of suppressing free speech by weaponizing the Department of Defense to intimidate and attempt to prosecute U.S. Senator Mark Kelly.

Kelly, a former Navy captain and astronaut, is one of the six Democrats that Hegseth and Trump accused of “sedition” last year after they appeared in a video reminding service members they could refuse illegal orders.

Kelly said Hegseth needed to be impeached, pointing to the lethal strikes against drug boats and the Iran war as “just the tip of the iceberg.”

Play Video

He added that the way the Pentagon chief had also sought to impose his own culture wars on the military, along with his mass firings and his bizarre obsession with testosterone, was like “nothing I’ve ever seen before.

“The military doesn’t need more testosterone. It needs better leadership right now,” Kelly said at the Crooked Con political conference on Saturday.

But Hegseth strongly defended his record on Monday, telling reporters he was following Trump’s orders and describing the efforts against him as a political stunt by a disgruntled Republican.

“This is not oversight, and it’s not accountability. It’s a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment,” he said of Massie.

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Farrah TomazinPolitical Correspondent

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.