PENTAGON BACKS OFF PLAN TO MONITOR MEDIA (for now)

We're not spying on you, DOD assures journos

By LEIGH MUNSIL
9/7/12 6:36 PM EDT

(Politico) - The Pentagon issues an official response to defense reporters’ concerns that their phone calls and emails might be tapped in order to close leaks:

“The Department of Defense does not conduct electronic or physical surveillance of journalists,” Pentagon press secretary George Little wrote in a letter to the Pentagon Press Association, released Friday.

The issue caused concern among some of the Pentagon press corps earlier this summer, when a closed House committee hearing about clamping down on DOD leaks led to a new Pentagon policy to monitor national media reporting for disclosures of classified information. The PPA sent a letter on July 20 asking that the DOD clarify what “monitor” entailed.

In his response, Little writes that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta directed the department to “review media reports” to ensure that DOD employees aren’t disclosing classified information.

“… The Secretary and Chairman both believe strongly in freedom of the press and encourage good relations between the Department and the press corps,” the letter says.