Trump Pentagon FIRES WATCHDOG who DEFIED THEM?!?!

Attorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian break down the Pentagon's firing of Stars and Stripes ombudsman Jacqueline Smith — the first woman to hold the position and the person Congress specifically created the role to empower. Smith was terminated via DA Form 3434 with no reason given and told the action was "not grievable." Her final column was titled "The Pentagon Is Trying to Silence Me." Six days before her firing, 39 members of Congress sent a letter to Hegseth expressing "great alarm" about interference with the paper's independence. Smith's offense: doing her job. She publicly criticized a Pentagon directive that prohibited Stars and Stripes from running commercial syndicated columns, cartoons, and news features, and she reported her concerns directly to Congress as the role requires. The ombudsman position was created in 1991 after military officials tried to suppress unfavorable coverage of the Iran-Contra affair. Brian and Shant connect this to Hegseth's broader war on press access — credentialing rules struck down twice by a federal judge, reporters exiled to a tent outside the building, escorts required at all times — noting this is just the one area where the Pentagon has had success silencing critics because Stars and Stripes is government-funded and harder to protect through traditional First Amendment litigation. PEN America called on Congress to "step in now."

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