Turns out that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth really doesn’t like it when people point out that he’s afraid of answering journalists’ tough questions. In fact, it could cost you your job.
Gabrielle Cuccia, a reporter from One America News Network, told The Independent in a report published Monday that she was fired after making a post on Substack about how Hegseth hasn’t held a press briefing since he took his position in January.
Cuccia is a supporter of President Donald Trump’s and has described herself as “MAGA girl,” but clearly that wasn’t enough to keep her around at the pro-Trump OAN.
Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearing on Jan. 14.
In her post, Cuccia called out media coverage that was critical of the Signalgate scandal, when a reporter was added to a Signal group chat where critical security information about military operations was shared. But she also took the Pentagon to task for its attempts to shape coverage of the Defense Department—and particularly Hegseth’s actions as chief.
“Why has the Department prioritized limiting press access, while the Secretary of Defense himself has yet to hold a briefing in the press room during his first 100 days?” Cuccia wrote.
That was apparently a bridge too far for OAN, which declined to comment on the matter when asked by The Independent, claiming it doesn’t “comment on employee related issues.”
“The timing came just days after I published a personal Substack article raising legitimate concerns about new restrictions placed on journalists inside the Pentagon—an article my employer later confirmed had been ‘put on their radar,’” Cuccia told The Independent.
The Pentagon has reportedly restricted press access following Signalgate, and now reporters are only allowed to speak to department officials with a minder from the Pentagon’s public affairs department present.
In her post, Cuccia also criticized the department for regularly telling reporters that Hegseth did not have any public events on his calendar for the day, “only to find hours later he was at a public event via X.”
A cartoon by Clay Bennett.
OAN is a cesspool of right-wing propaganda and conspiracy theories, and it’s been a reliable source of pro-Trump spin since its founding.
Currently, presidential adviser and conspiracy theorist Kari Lake is positioning OAN to usurp Voice of America, replacing the government-funded broadcaster with an outlet that prioritizes Trump over the truth.
The network’s good fortune comes just a few years after it was forced to pay out a settlement to voting technology company Smartmatic, which OAN falsely accused of warping 2020 election results in favor of President Joe Biden.
Hegseth is obsessed with presenting a positive image of himself, and he even recently set up a Pentagon makeup studio for media appearances—which are usually on Fox News, where Hegseth used to push right-wing bigotry and misinformation and brag about not washing his hands for years.
But in his new role at the Pentagon, Hegseth and his team have made news for all the wrong reasons. When they aren’t leaking military information, they’re attacking transgender rights, purging Black history, and bragging about ending “woke” programs that actually began under Trump—bungling work that has led to congressional Republicans looking ridiculous while covering for him.
In firing Cuccia, OAN has made it clear that nobody—not even “MAGA girl”—is allowed to point out flaws within the Trump administration.
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