What Is the Pentagon DOJ Leak Task Force? Inside Hegseth's Plan That Has Press Freedom Groups Alarmed

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Monday, 13 July, that the Pentagon and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have created a joint task force to identify and prosecute officials who leak sensitive national security information to the press.

The announcement lands days after federal agents delivered grand jury subpoenas to four New York Times reporters and while US forces fight an active war in the Gulf, raising questions about how much of that conflict the public will be allowed to see.

How the Task Force Will Work

In a video posted on X, Hegseth said he has delegated tasking authority to the Pentagon's Office of General Counsel, giving the office power to request and receive all information, records, and support across the department for media leak investigations. Personnel must deliver a full and complete response within two days of any request.

'Access to confidential and secret information is a sacred trust, and those who betray that trust will be met with the full force of the law,' Hegseth said. He thanked acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and said the two departments are working more closely than ever before.

Subpoenas Arrived on Reporters' Doorsteps First

Three days before the announcement, the DOJ subpoenaed Times journalists Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan this Wednesday. The four had reported on security concerns surrounding the Qatari-donated jet now serving as Air Force One, which cost taxpayers about $400 million (£299 million) to retrofit. Federal agents delivered some subpoenas to the reporters' homes.

Times lawyer David McCraw said the sight of federal agents on journalists' doorsteps 'should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects'. The DOJ countered that reporters are not the targets, only those leaking classified material.

A Pattern Stretching Back to March

The task force formalises months of escalating pressure. The DOJ obtained subpoenas targeting Wall Street Journal reporters on 4 March over a February article revealing that Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Dan Caine had warned President Donald Trump about the risks of attacking Iran.

Blanche warned in May that any witness with information about leakers, whether a reporter or otherwise, 'should not be surprised' to receive a subpoena. In April, Trump threatened to jail journalists who revealed an airman from a downed F-15E fighter jet was missing inside Iran, saying the government would tell the media company involved to give up its source or go to jail.

The department quietly withdrew subpoenas against Journal and Washington Post reporters in June, only for fresh ones to hit the Times weeks later.

Why Your War News Could Get Thinner

With American forces striking Iranian targets as recently as Monday, the task force will shape how much war reporting reaches the public. Casualty updates, operational setbacks, and intelligence warnings have reached Americans largely through the channels now under criminal investigation.

Adam Steinbaugh, senior attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said hauling reporters before grand juries 'sends a chilling message to journalists and whistleblowers alike'.

For readers, less leaking means slower and thinner information about a conflict already touching military families and household fuel costs.