The continuing crusade by the regime of Donald Trump to undermine the Constitution’s First Amendment is hitting new lows as he presides over previously unimaginable assaults on free speech and freedom of the press. He is playing by the rules laid out by history’s most notorious totalitarians that he admires and seeks to emulate.

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This week Trump’s Secretary of Defense (War?), Pete Hegseth, decreed that the press must comply with a sort of loyalty oath before they will be permitted any access to the Pentagon or the military leaders who work for the American people. It’s just what you might expect from a dry drunk whose qualifications for the job consist of having co-hosted a weekend morning program on Fox News. And it affirms the twisted mindset of Trump, who believes that he can dictate what the media reports about him.

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The mandate that Hegseth imposed on the press forbids them to do any investigative reporting, interviewing, or to publish any stories that haven’t been pre-approved by Hegseth’s Pentagon overlords. As reported by NPR, the network that Trump and the GOP have defunded…

“The Pentagon will drastically change its rules for journalists who cover the Department of Defense, two U.S. officials who are not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to NPR Friday. The move drew sharp criticism from news organizations, who said it violated the bedrock of a free press.”

“Going forward, journalists must sign a pledge not to gather any information, including unclassified reports, that hasn’t been authorized for release. […] those who fail to obey the new policy will lose their press credentials.”

When a government agency threatens to revoke the credentials of news organizations that don’t obey their edicts, you don’t have a free press. You have a fascist dictatorship that obviously has some very troubling things to hide. Could it be that Trump and Hegseth are worried that the people will find out that the boats they are blowing up in the Caribbean were just innocent fishermen? Or are they concerned that more details of Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein will be revealed?

The NPR story quoted Hegseth saying that “DoW information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified.” This, from the guy who disclosed secret war plans in an insecure Signal chat group. He also said that “The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon — the people do.” That’s right! And the press are the people’s representatives. The people rely on the press, not partisan political hacks like Hegseth and his designated cronies, to keep them informed.

Reporting only what those in power have approved is not journalism. It’s stenography. Or as George Orwell put it: “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations.” This has been a long time coming with the Trump regime. In February he issued his own decree aimed at manipulating the reporting about him…

SEE THIS: Trump Kicks Reporters Out of Pentagon Offices, Replaces Them with MAGA Media Mouthpieces

However, in a surprise announcement, Trump is now publicly distancing himself from Hegseth’s pressuring of the press. He was asked directly “Should the Pentagon be part of deciding what reporters can report on?” He replied “No, I don’t think so. Nothing stops reporters. You know that.”

It’s likely that Trump has no idea what Hegseth said, or what this reporter’s question meant. It isn’t as if he has a firm grasp of his administration – or reality. Everything he says is fungible and reversible if it suits his needs. In the meantime, Trump didn’t revoke Hegseth’s policy, so the muzzling of the press stands. Except that “Nothing stops reporters. You know that.” Well, we’ll see.

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