Overview
- The Pentagon announced Monday that reporters are no longer allowed inside its press office after the space was reclassified as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF).
- Officials say speechwriters moved into the press office routinely handle classified material and need direct access to the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network, which the reclassification permits.
- Reporters already face tighter limits inside the building: the Pentagon closed the former press workspace and requires journalists to be escorted by authorized staff when they move through the facility.
- The change comes during ongoing litigation over the department's wider press rules, including a March federal ruling that struck down parts of the policy and a separate New York Times suit filed in May that challenges the escort requirement.
- News outlets and press-rights observers say the move will reduce informal contact between reporters and Pentagon spokespeople, limit background sourcing and complicate oversight, and coverage of the decision relied on Pentagon statements and confirmation from anonymous sources.