A U.S. military spokesman told a reporter he'd be put on a 'list of people to disregard'
By August, U.S. Central Command had gone quiet on the biggest story of the year, which was its own war with Iran. Nick Turse, a senior reporter at The Intercept who has been on the beat since 2005, called to ask why.
He got Richard Allee, a public affairs executive assistant at CENTCOM. Turse pressed. Allee told him that if he kept pushing he would be put on a list of people to disregard. Asked directly whether such a list exists, Allee said yes.
That is the whole story, and it rests on one reporter's account of one phone call. There is no recording. There is no second witness. Turse's notes are the record.
CENTCOM's first denial ran five words by email: CENTCOM does not have a 'blacklist.' No further comment. Then The Daily Beast asked its own questions, and the answer came back harder. A CENTCOM spokesman, Capt. Tim Hawkins, called the story a complete misrepresentation and said Turse had repeatedly harassed staff.
The gap between those two denials is the part worth sitting with. The same command, the same week, the same question, and a markedly sharper answer the second time. That is not proof of anything on its own. It is the kind of thing you notice.
Turse says none of this is new. A different command told him almost the same thing in 2018, after he exposed torture at a U.S. base in Cameroon.
We are not telling you a blacklist exists. We are telling you a named official said it does, his command says it does not, and nobody outside that phone call can settle it. Read the exchange and decide for yourself.
By the numbers
- 5 — words in CENTCOM's first denial, sent by email[1]
- 2018 — the year a different command told Turse almost the same thing[2]
The reporting
This story is built on reporting by The Intercept. Read the original →
Sources
- The Intercept, Pentagon spokesperson admits there's a secret blacklist of journalists
- The Daily Beast, Pentagon official exposes secret press blacklist
- Editor and Publisher
Image credits
- Hero: source (Public domain (DoD)) — Tech. Sgt. Andy Dunaway
- Parnell briefing: source (Public domain (U.S. Air Force)) — Staff Sgt. Madelyn Keech
Citations
- CENTCOM to The Intercept, 24 Aug 2026
- The Intercept, 24 Aug 2026