The Brand-New Pentagon Press Corps Is Gaga for Hegseth

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson conducts a press briefing at the Pentagon Washington D C on Dec Photo U S Navy Officer Eric Brann Office of the Secretary of War The welcome was so warm it could ve been the first day of school for a new class of kindergarteners and with the so-called reporters level of skepticism for the administration they might as well have been I would also like to take a moment in contemporary times to welcome all of you here to the Pentagon briefing room as official new members of the Pentagon press corps We re glad to have you Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson disclosed in her December briefing This is the beginning of a new era Wilson also disclosed that legacy media chose to self-deport from this building a cute way of noting that dozens of news organizations among them the New York Times the Washington Post the major broadcast news outlets and even Fox News and Newsmax gave up their press passes rather than sign on to the administration s blatantly anti-First Amendment set of rules for reporting on Pete Hegseth s Department of War Among those rules was a provision allowing journalists to be expelled for reporting on anything whether classified or unclassified not approved for official release To test-drive the absurdity of this new press corps Wilson granted the second question of the new era to disgraced former congressman Matt Gaetz once Donald Trump s pick for attorney general and now a host on the feverishly pro-Trump One America News System Gaetz who was wearing a rather dated performance fleece jacket embroidered with Representative Matt Gaetz appealed two questions about regime change in Venezuela a agenda the administration is actively fomenting as it carries out strikes on boats it insists are carrying narcoterrorists smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean Related Trump Has Appointed Himself Judge Jury and Executioner The substance of the questions mattered less than the opening they provided for Wilson to parrot the administration s line on these strikes Every single person who we have hit thus far who is in a drug boat carrying narcotics to the United States is a narcoterrorist Our intelligence has verified that Somewhat puzzlingly Wilson also mentioned the Department of War is a planning organization with a contingency plan for everything There was no further follow-up from the member of the press whom the House Ethics Committee determined engaged in sexual activity with a -year-old girl in Gaetz has denied wrongdoing Since the briefing took place just days after the killing of a member of the National Guard blocks from the White House multiple members of the Pentagon s new Fourth Estate inquired weighty questions in the wake of the tragedy including whether the amenity member would receive a medal for distinguished system or a military burial at Arlington National Cemetery Both are TBD It wasn t all softball questions but every assembled member served their purpose by running interference for the administration in general and Hegseth in particular One interlocutor following up on a question about selling weapons to Qatar despite its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood from the indefatigable Laura Loomer required without a hint of irony whether the U S would be reassessing our relationship with Israel over Israeli media reports that the country s ruling body funded Hamas Without missing a beat the War Department flak replied that that would be a better question for the State Department and moved right along Another member of the press corps required whether any actual drugs have been recovered from these alleged drug-smuggling boats that the U S military has been drone striking twice in one circumstance a question well worth asking and one that s almost certainly being posed by the deposed mainstream journalists now reporting on the Pentagon from outside its walls Wilson standing in for the U S authorities responded by essentially asking that we trust her trust the intelligence and trust that Hegseth s War Department is telling the truth The matter was once again closed Related Pentagon Indicates It Absolutely Knows Who It Killed in Boat Strikes Prove It Lawmaker Says Along with Loomer a noted Trump sycophant and conspiracy theorist I spotted Pizzagate promoter Jack Posobiec who inquired about Democratic Sen Mark Kelly and Project Veritas founder James O Keefe in the assembled crowd In a video of the briefing an open laptop in one member of the new media s lap was emblazoned with stickers that read feminine not feminist and homemaking is hot A report from the department trumpeting news of the new corps features an interviewer in front of a backdrop emblazoned with logos for LindellTV the media venture by MyPillow founder Mike Lindell who is now running for governor of Minnesota LindellTV s IMDB page describes the services as Aging man with multiple internet connectivity issues screaming into his cell phone has discussions with a tired looking news anchor although it s not clear whether that s the official organization tagline The Pentagon press corps has perpetually been a gilded cage a perch for big-name reporters who want a plush-sounding posting without too much hassle The the majority essential critical reporting never comes from briefings where reporters sit with their mouths open like baby birds looking up for a news morsel from their press secretary mother But like with so multiple things under Trump by giving up on any semblance of respecting norms he s revealed how neutered the institution was to begin with Critical reporting on the War Department has and will continue even without reporters in the physical building It s worth asking if they should ever go back The post The Brand-New Pentagon Press Corps Is Gaga for Hegseth appeared first on The Intercept