10 Pictures Of Pete Hegseth From The ‘Unflattering’ Batch The Pentagon Doesn’t Want You To See

These may be the last press photos of U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth we see for a while.

On March 2, approximately two days after the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran, Secretary of Defense and War Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held a press conference to discuss the hostilities. The event reportedly led to a further escalation in the ongoing battle between the Pentagon and its press over allegedly “unflattering” photos of Hegseth.

According to a Washington Post article published Wednesday, following the event, press photographers were not allowed to participate in subsequent briefings on the war. The Post cited “two people close to the decision who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation” and who said the ban was lifted because Hegseth’s staff deemed photos from the March 2 event “unflattering.”

Before the March 2 briefing, Hegseth, a firebrand former Fox News anchor, had not appeared behind the Pentagon podium since last June. Under Hegseth’s leadership, the Pentagon adopted new restrictions for journalists, limiting access to unauthorized information. The new rules have led many media outlets that traditionally covered the armed forces to surrender their access badges and abandon workspaces in the building. In their absence, the Pentagon has accredited a new wave of largely partisan media outlets.

At the White House, the press has also faced new restrictions during President Donald Trump’s second term as the administration seeks to attract more right-wing media outlets. These changes have sparked widespread concern and criticism from the media, including the Pentagon Press Association, which represents more than 100 media outlets.

The Pentagon policy also sparked a legal challenge from The New York Times, and last week a federal judge questioned the constitutionality of the measure, which was widely seen as an indication that he could block the restrictions.

The Post report did not specify which photos from last week were deemed “unflattering” by Hegseth’s team. However, the newspaper noted that the Associated Press, Reuters and Getty Images were among the media outlets that covered the March 2 event.

A spokesperson provided TPM with a statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson indicating that Department of Defense personnel and accredited media outlets would release images of future events and attributing the decision to “space” concerns. The statement also said media outlets concerned about the matter could ask for credentials, which would mean agreeing to the new restrictions that limit their access.

“In order to efficiently use space in the Pentagon briefing room, we allow one representative per media outlet if not accredited, excluding the pool. Photographs from the briefings are immediately posted online for the public and press to use. If this harms the business model of some media outlets, then they should consider requesting press accreditation from the Pentagon,” Wilson said.

Wilson and the Pentagon did not directly respond to questions about whether the ban was related to “unflattering” photos or what specific images might have been problematic.

While we don’t know for sure which photos may be in question here, we have access to many photos taken by Getty on March 2. In an effort to provide more context to this latest row over Pentagon press access, here are 10 of Getty’s photos from that day.