Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
A CENTCOM press aide tells a reporter the command keeps a “list of people to disregard” and threatens to add him to it
CENTCOM’s press office says it “does not have a blacklist.” A spokesman says the aide is a contractor and the reporter “repeatedly harassed” staff.
What happened
On August 24, 2026, The Intercept reported that Richard Allee, an executive assistant in U.S. Central Command public affairs, told reporter Nick Turse: “You’ll be put on a list of people to disregard.” Turse had repeatedly called with questions about Iranian attacks on U.S. bases, conflicting casualty counts and medical-evacuation flights.
Asked, “You have a list of people to disregard?” Allee answered, “Yes.” He said it was “not a list that we publicize” and that he was “not privy” to who was on it. Turse had been on hold for more than 2 hours before Allee picked up.
CENTCOM’s press office replied in writing that “CENTCOM does not have a blacklist.” Spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins told the Daily Beast the article was “a complete misrepresentation,” said Turse had “repeatedly harassed CENTCOM staff,” and said Allee was a contractor. An anonymous U.S. official told The Intercept that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office had ordered staff not to engage with Turse.
Who benefited
CENTCOM and the Office of the Secretary of Defense avoided answering questions about casualties and civilian deaths in a war whose official counts were already in dispute. Hegseth’s wider campaign against the Pentagon press corps, from the eviction of major outlets to a “pledge” policy a court struck down, is reinforced by informal exclusion lists.
Who wanted something
By the anonymous official’s account, Hegseth’s office had ordered staff not to engage with specific reporters, and CENTCOM public affairs acted on it. What the office got was control over which journalists receive answers, without a written policy that could be challenged in court, as the pledge requirement was in March 2026.
Who lost out
Reporters covering the Iran war depend on the command for basic facts, and so does the public that depends on them. The Pentagon was revising casualty figures and splitting the count at the time. Turse has unanswered CENTCOM queries going back to 2013. Courts have held that the government may not condition press access on the content of coverage.
Why it matters
A CENTCOM press aide confirmed on the record that the command keeps a list of journalists whose questions it ignores, and the command then denied it. Seth Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation said threatening a journalist with a blacklist for unwelcome reporting is “as unconstitutional as it gets.”