"Hegseth's appearance on CBS Evening News followed the Trump administration's move to sharply restrict access for credentialed Pentagon reporters, sidelining journalists responsible for independently scrutinizing U.S. military power. Yet CBS not only sat down with Hegseth, it allowed him to define a U.S. military operation in Venezuela as a law enforcement action, argue Congress need not be notified, and openly discuss American oil interests, all without confronting the administration's crackdown on the press itself."
"That omission matters because the law enforcement label is a legal maneuver with constitutional consequences. Classifying a military operation this way narrows congressional oversight, weakens War Powers constraints, and limits disclosure requirements. By accepting that framing without challenge, CBS allowed Hegseth to redraw the legal boundaries of U.S. force on national television without accounting for what that redefinition permits. This is not about whether CBS should have interviewed the Secretary of Defense."
CBS News afforded Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth three uninterrupted Evening News segments shortly after the administration sharply restricted access for credentialed Pentagon reporters and effectively expelled the press corps. The network allowed Hegseth to characterize a potential U.S. military operation in Venezuela as a law enforcement action, argue that Congress need not be notified, and openly discuss American oil interests without challenging those claims or addressing the administration's crackdown on reporters. Labeling military force as law enforcement narrows congressional oversight, weakens War Powers constraints, and limits disclosure requirements. Interviews conducted amid punitive measures against reporters require confronting attacks on press access; CBS did not do so.
Read at www.mediaite.com
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