In a video posted online last week, the lawmakers said, "Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren't just coming from abroad, but from right here at home." "Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal order. ... You must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution," they added. US President Donald Trump called the lawmakers' actions "seditious" and "treason."
But moments before the Nov. 14 media event began, the Oakland Police Department barred the Peralta Citizen reporter from entering, a remarkable blockade against a college newspaper covering a national story about beloved Laney coach John Beam, who was fatally shot on campus a day earlier. The reason? The Citizen reporter an associate editor had not first obtained a police-issued press credential.
The memo arrived around the same time the Defense Department rolled out new media guidelines that require reporters to sign a pledge not to gather any information that hasn't been officially authorized for release, or risk losing their press credentials. Zoom in: The Sept. 15 memo to senior Pentagon leadership, combatant commanders and other national-security leaders lays out what is and what isn't subject to an "enhanced framework for participating in external engagements."
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. Going forward, journalists must sign a pledge not to gather any information, including unclassified reports, that hasn't been authorized for release. The Pentagon says those who fail to obey the new policy will lose their press credentials, cutting off access to the headquarters of the largest department in the U.S. Government.