The Pentagon has ordered the military's independent newspaper, Stars and Stripes, to cease publication at the end of the month, despite Congressional efforts to continue funding the century-old publication.
The order to halt publication by Sept. 30, and dissolve the organization by the end of January, is the latest salvo in the Pentagon's move earlier this year to cut the $15.5 million in funding for the paper from the department's budget. And it is a reflection of the Trump administration's broader animosity for the media and members of the press.
Members of Congress have objected to the defunding move for months. And senators sent a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper this week urging him to reinstate funding. The letter, signed by 15 senators — including Republicans and Democrats — also warns Esper that the department is legally prohibited from canceling a budget program while a temporary continuing resolution funding the federal government is in effect.
“Stars and Stripes is an essential part of our nations freedom of the press that serves the very population charged with defending that freedom,” the senators said in the letter.
And Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in a separate letter to Esper in late August, also voiced opposition to the move, calling Stripes “a valued “hometown newspaper” for the members of the Armed Forces, their families, and civilian employees across the globe.” He added that “as a veteran who has served overseas, I know the value that the Stars and Stripes brings to its readers.”
I'm thinking the "losers and fools" meme is catching up with him, and he knows he needs to buy some good press with the military. (edit: I wrote that sentence before reading to the end of the USA Today article)
quote:
President Donald Trump on Friday reversed a decision to cut funding to Stars and Stripes, a newspaper that has served American soldiers since the Civil War, in an announcement that came hours after the outlet's demise was revealed.
“The United States of America will NOT be cutting funding to @starsandstripes magazine under my watch,” Trump tweeted Friday. “It will continue to be a wonderful source of information to our Great Military!”
edit: Here's the end of the article:
quote:
The decision to reverse course comes as the White House is facing a firestorm after a report in The Atlantic that details a history of Trump insulting members of the U.S. military who have been captured or killed. The story, citing unnamed officials, said Trump disparaged the military and described America's war dead as "losers" and "suckers" – accusations he has angrily denied.
The White House spent much of Friday vehemently denying the report. Trump described the unnamed sources making the claim as "low lifes" and "liars."
The Pentagon will rescind its order for Stars and Stripes to cease publication by Sept. 30, according to an email sent to the news organization Thursday.
The Pentagon was also working Thursday to withdraw its request that Congress not fund Stars and Stripes in fiscal year 2021, according to the email from the acting director of the Pentagon’s Defense Media Activity to Stars and Stripes ombudsman Ernie Gates.
The apparent decision comes nearly a week after President Donald Trump on Sept. 4 tweeted Stars and Stripes funding would not be cut “under my watch.”
In Army Col. Paul Haverstick’s email, he wrote Stars and Stripes would no longer be required to submit to the Defense Department a written shut down plan that had been due Sept. 15. That plan would have detailed how the news organization would close by Jan. 31. Haverstick, the acting DMA director who issued the original August order for Stripes’ to prepare to stop operations, wrote to Gates that he aimed to provide the new memorandum to Stars and Stripes leadership by the weekend.
“It’s good to get written assurance from the director that the shutdown memo will be rescinded,” Gates said Thursday of the reversal. “Beyond that assurance, it’s significant that Col. Haverstick called off his direction that Stripes’ publisher provide a detailed shutdown plan by next Tuesday.”
Though Stars and Stripes retains its editorial independence and is congressionally mandated to be governed by First Amendment principles, it is part of the Pentagon’s Defense Media Activity. The Pentagon funding, about $15.5 million, makes up roughly half of Stars and Stripes’ annual budget and is primarily used to print and distribute the newspaper to troops scattered across the globe, including in warzones such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. The remainder of the newspaper’s funding comes from advertising and subscriptions.
In February, Defense Secretary Mark Esper proposed in his fiscal year 2021 budget ending federal funding for Stars and Stripes, a move the news organization’s leadership said would be fatal to the newspaper. Esper said at that time the savings would fund “higher-priority issues,” such as purchasing modern weapons.
