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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Holds Medal Of Freedom Event Honoring Charlie Kirk; Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), Is Interviewed About Trump Posthumously Awards Charlie Kirk The Medal Of Freedom; News Outlets Broadly Reject Hegseth's Pentagon Media Rules; IDF Remains Of Four Deceased Hostages Enter Israel. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 14, 2025 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And with great love, I mean, I read so many stories about some of the enemies, but I watch the enemies and it's hard for them to speak badly about them because they just don't. And then you do have people in the days since Charlie's killing, we've seen exactly why our country so dearly needed his example. We've watched legions of far left radicals resort to desperate acts of violence and terror because they need know that their ideas and arguments are persuading no one.

[17:00:32]

They know that they're failing. They have the devil's ideology and they're failing. And they know it, they feel it, and they become violent. They seem to become very violent on the left. They've rammed vehicles into federal law enforcement, fired sniper rifles at ICE agents and me, you know, but I was -- I made a turn at a good time.

I made a turn at a good time. I turned to the right. Charlie couldn't believe it, actually. He said, how the hell did you make that turn? I said, I don't know.

But fired rifles and threatened the lives of our Supreme Court justices, our great justices, they have to be protected. We just issued a lot of money, $60 million to protect the Supreme Court justices. Very important. We can't let anything happen. In places of worship, we're protecting our people.

We've seen that a candidate for attorney general in Virginia boasted that he would want to see the Republican legislature, a legislator in Virginia, shot in the head and to see his children murdered. He actually said this. And now he continues to run for office and most people continue to back him. But he said he wants his man shot. Said shot in the head, and to see his children murdered and they keep running.

Pretty amazing, right? That's a bad one. Let's see how that turns out. But that's a really bad one. Nobody's heard that one before.

Especially in the wake of Charlie's assassination, our country must have absolutely no tolerance for this radical left, violence, extremism and terror. We're done with the angry mobs and we're done -- we're not going to let our cities be unsafe. We're going to make sure our cities are safe. When you have Chicago, where they had 4,000 people murdered over a very short period of time, 4,000 people, and then we have a governor stand up and say, oh, things are going swimmingly. No, they're not.

We're going to make Chicago safe, just like we're going to make -- look what we did in D.C. It's so nice that we started here because this was one of the most violent places in the United States. It would be dangerous to be right out here, but you couldn't go to a restaurant. The restaurants were all dying. The whole place was dying.

You'd have these gorgeous -- look at the Washington Monument over there, you'd have these gorgeous buildings and monuments and structures and people were afraid to leave their apartment. They were afraid to go to work. They'd get into an Uber and they'd feel safe. And then the Uber would be attacked. They thought they made it and then the Uber was attacked on the trip in.

But we've done a great job and now it's considered a totally safe city. We haven't had problems. Took us 12 days to make it great. We took out, Pam, 1700 hard criminals, career criminals in many cases, but these are hardened criminals. Many of them came in through the Biden open borders.

We brought them back to the countries and a couple were so violent that we put them in jail. We don't want to take a chance that they could get back in because no matter how good we do, somebody can sneak in. We did -- they were so violent and so, so bad. One arrested 28 times. Every time he left prison, he'd get into a violent incident, 28 times, and we put him away for a long time.

But we're done with the angry mobs. We're done with it. This is such an unbelievable place right now. You take a look where you can walk down the middle of the street with your wife or your husband. Your children can walk, they can walk alone.

It doesn't matter. They can walk anywhere in Washington and they're safe now. If this were a year and a half ago, a year ago, they'd have a serious chance of being badly hurt, even killed. Even killed. They'd come in from Indiana, they'd come in from Iowa, they'd come from Florida to see their nation's capital and somebody would have to call the parents, I'm sorry, but your son or your daughter's been killed.

Not anymore. You hear those sirens going off? That's good. That's a good sound. That means they either got the bad guy or they're going to stop the bad guy.

You didn't hear that sound because nobody wanted to do anything. Nobody. Listen to the beauty of that sound. Seriously. And that's the real deal sirens.

They're not politically correct sirens. You hear they're about three miles away. That's great. What a beautiful sound. They're stopping crime.

[17:05:06] That's what they're doing. So we are done with the voices of fools, they're fools, and death threats and we're going to make our cities safe. And I thought it was Charlie's, one of his biggest dreams was that he couldn't believe it, Chicago is going to be a great city again. We've already -- you know, we sent people in there six months ago and this governor said, well, crime is down. Yes, that's because we had the FBI in there for six months just preparing it for the bigger surge.

And they've done a great job. The -- Kash and the FBI, they've done a great job. And they love doing it. You know, they love being able to do it. They were restricted from doing it.

They couldn't do anything. And now they're totally unrestricted. They -- all they have to do is stop crime. And they're doing it. By the way, Memphis, as you know, you heard they went in about a week ago, one of the most dangerous places in the country, really, in the world, it's not just the country.

They have very few cities that would compare to some of these cities. You go to Afghanistan, you say, oh, that's unsafe. Well, the crime numbers are much better than the crime numbers in places that we have. So Memphis, I understand, is doing unbelievably in one week, it's like a different place. And this took 12 days.

And then after that, we just perfected it. But after 12 days, we had good safety here. After one month, it's like -- it's really amazing. And by the way, restaurants are booming. Restaurants are opening up.

The big problem we have, you can't get into a restaurant in D.C. anymore. So they're opening up. It's a beautiful thing to see. It's called safety. It's called law enforcement and letting them do their job.

And that's why I said last month that I have directed the attorney general and the Department of Homeland Security to confront the very real threat of left wing terrorism in our country. It's a real threat. Not when you confront it's not. Because they're not brave people. In fact, they're cowards.

When you confront them, they immediately fold. You have to see them fold. You have to see them crying. They fold. But it includes dismantling the networks that fund them and finance them.

And we're finding out who those networks are. We already know quite a few of them. When you see these violent incidents and then you see people holding this gorgeous sign with beautiful wood, beautiful cardboard wood, everything -- everything's perfect paint job. And they're all the same. There are thousands of them.

You know that they weren't made in the basement out of love, they were made by anarchists and in some cases, wealthy. I'll probably find some of my nice friends that are up there being so nice to me, especially lately, they're being very nice. But it surprises you who they may be, and you almost wonder why, why, why would they do it? But they're hurting our country, and we're really taking it back one by one. If we didn't go into Los Angeles early on in the administration, the commissioner, the chief of police Los Angeles said, if they didn't go in, we would have lost our city.

Now, they already lost 25,000 houses to fire because they wouldn't let the water come in from the Pacific Northwest, which they should have done. And I said, you better do it. They didn't do it. And we had 25,000 homes where they had no water in their sprinklers, they had no water in the fire hydrants. It would have been a different kind of a thing if they did what they were supposed to do.

We had to break in. We broke in and had the water come down. They actually -- they said, for the environment, it's great. They lost 25,000 houses. It's incredible.

But the commissioner said, without the federal government and President Trump's intervention, we would have lost the entire city. And we have the Olympics going there soon. I got the Olympics. We have the Olympics. We have the World Cup.

And we have, most importantly, we have the 250th anniversary of our country. That's going to be most important. And all of these things are happening, and we're going to have safe cities. We're going to have very, very safe cities. So one month after Charlie's death, we still feel the terrible shock and the pain of his loss like just about nobody I can think of.

Charlie Kirk was one of a kind. He was unstoppable. And he really was. Boy, when he had an idea in his head, oh, he was -- he would call me, sir, please, you haven't done it yet. I said, Charlie, relax.

Just relax. He didn't relax. He called me the next day again. He got it done. But he was, like, indomitable and always will be.

He's really irreplaceable. Nobody can replace him. But they're going to do great. But you can't replace that kind of person and that kind of talent, frankly. The word talent is an important word, but that kind of talent.

[17:10:01]

So we hold his memory in our hearts forever. Every single day of this administration. We will continue to carry out the mission for which he lived, and he really did. He lived for this country. He lived for his wife and his family, but he lived for this country, too.

In Charlie's honor, we will continue like we have been, to fight, fight, fight and to win, win, win. We're going to win so much.

So the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a big deal. You have the Congressional Medal of Honor military and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is civilian, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a really big deal. Very few people get it. Very few people, frankly, qualify. It's a decision of the president, but it's a qualification that's a very hard one to get.

And I would like to ask, if I might, the military aide to read Charles James Kirk's citation for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Thank you very much. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded to Charles James Kirk. Accepting on behalf of Charlie is his wife, Mrs. Erika Kirk.

Charlie Kirk was one of the most influential American political figures of his generation. At just 18 years old, he founded Turning Point USA and grew it into the largest conservative youth organization in the nation. For over a decade, he tirelessly traveled the country leading a movement to restore respect for our founding principles, reawaken our national identity, and inspire a renewed spirit of religious devotion. He was one of the great debaters and communicators of his time. Despite receiving repeated threats, he remained undeterred and modeled courage, logic, humor and grace to the next generation.

On September 10, 2025, at age 31, Charlie Kirk was assassinated while addressing a group of students. The United States honors him as a martyr for truth and freedom.

ERIKA KIRK, CHARLIE KIRK'S WIDOW: Thank you, Mr. President, for honoring my husband in such a profound and meaningful way. And thank you for making this event a priority with -- amid the peace process in the Middle East. Thank you. Very grateful.

Char -- excuse me. Charlie always admired your commitment to freedom, and that's something that both of you shared. So thank you.

Your support of our family and the work that Charlie devoted his life to will be something I cherish forever. So thank you.

To our gracious first lady in her office for making this event possible, thank you as well. It's beautiful.

To Vice President and the lovely Usha Vance, your friendship has been an unbelievable encouragement. Thank you.

And to all our friends and family that are here and watching from all around the world, thank you for loving us. Thank you for praying for us and for believing in what Charlie believed in. And to our Turning Point USA staff and the Charlie Kirk show staff, we love you more than you could ever know.

[17:15:16]

And to the Turning Point USA chapters that are watching all across America right now, you are the heartbeat of this future and of this movement. Everything that Charlie built, you guys are the legacy holders of that. You are living proof that his mission did not die with him. It lives through you. And Charlie always said the next generation will decide whether freedom endures.

And because of you, I know that freedom will endure. It will. And today we're gathered not only to celebrate Charlie's birthday, but to honor a truth that he gave his entire life to defend. And that's freedom. The very existence of the Presidential Medal of Freedom reminds us that the national interest of the United States has always been freedom. Our founders etched it into the preamble of our Constitution. And those words are not relics on parchment, they are a living covenant. The blessings of liberty are not man's invention, they are God's endowment. Charlie lived for those blessings, not as abstract words, but as sacred promises.

He used to love to journal about this topic all the time and with such a heart postured of gratitude. And he believed that liberty was both a right and a responsibility. And he used to say, freedom is the ability to do what is right without fear. And that's how he lived. He was free from fear.

He was free from compromise, free from anything that could enslave his soul. His name, Charles, literally means free man. And that's exactly who my husband was. He was a free man. And from the time I met him, sitting across from him, being interviewed on politics and philosophy and theology, anything that Charlie loved, any topic, he loved, and I just saw the fire in his soul, and there was this divine restlessness within him that came from knowing God placed him on this earth to protect something very, very sacred for all of us.

And he never stopped fighting for people to experience freedom. He didn't. Charlie often said that without God, freedom becomes chaos. And he believed liberty could only survive when anchored to truth. And I remember in one of his speeches, he told the audience that the opposite of liberty isn't law, he said, it's captivity.

And that the freest people in the world are those whose hearts belong to Christ. But what's so powerful is that Charlie had the ability to communicate so brilliantly across all generations. And he reminded us that in a world that tells us freedom is doing whatever you want to do, the real freedom is the power to live freely and to do what is right. And in one of his journal entries, he wrote that he wanted everyone to know that you can't have liberty without moral responsibility. Freedom divorced from faith eventually just destroys itself.

And what's so fascinating about all of this is looking back these past 12 years of Turning Point USA and his mission, there's almost this veil of sacredness. Because what I realize is that while he was building an organization, he was also building a movement, one that called people back to God, back to truth. And a movement that was filled with courage. And ironically, for a man who impacted millions, Charlie never desired to be the center of attention. He just wasn't.

My husband was not a man of extravagance. He loved simple but deeply meaningful things. Truly, he loved his late night walks. He loved buying more books than he could ever read because he felt there was no such thing as a book budget. And he loved being able to read to our kids the same bedtime story on repeat because he knew it was their favorite.

[17:20:26] And -- but to him, that was special. And he loved to sit in the sun on a Saturday morning with his cup of decaf coffee and his phone was off because he was honoring the Sabbath. And for him, it was that moment to catch his breath and just be in peace, because he was unreachable at the moment and he preferred quiet birthdays. But that never stopped me from telling him, I told him every single year, I said, baby, I love your birthday. I said, because it's the day that God knew the world couldn't go another day without you.

And so the rhythm of our usual birthday celebration for him was mint ice cream, mint chocolate chip ice cream. He only had it twice a year on his birthday and Fourth of July. It's just -- and then after that, he was back to work as usual. But last year, his one birthday wish was to see the Oregon Ducks play the Ohio State. And they won.

Oregon won that night. And it was by far one of the most memorable nights of his birthday experience of his life until today. And so, honestly, President Trump, I have spent seven and a half years trying to find the perfect birthday gift for Charlie. And it's so difficult. And those of you that have spouses or loved ones, you know how difficult it is sometimes to buy a gift for someone that you love, because he wasn't a materialistic man.

So that also did not help. But now I can say with confidence, Mr. President, that you have given him the best birthday gift he could ever have.

TRUMP: Thank you, ma'am.

KIRK: It's such an honor. And the recognition of a life lived for defending freedom. And that's what Charlie fought for until his last breath. And it was written across his chest in those final moments one of his simple T shirts that always carried a message. And this one bearing a single word, freedom, that was the banner over his life.

And that shirt was a declaration. The same declaration he made in every speech, every campus visit, every time he shared the gospel at a church, every sleepless night that he would spend praying for the youth of this nation and planning for the future of our country and just oppressing upon them that when we defend liberty, we defend the soul of our nation.

My husband never told anyone what to say. He never did. He never told anyone what to say. He would just encourage them to think. He would encourage them to think outside of the traditional political labels.

He would want them to think in a way that was anchored in wisdom and truth. But he would never tell anyone what to say. Charlie wasn't content to simply admire freedom, he wanted to multiply it. He wanted to multiply freedom. He wanted young people to taste it and to understand it and defend it.

He wanted them to see that liberty isn't self-indulgence, it's self- governance under God. He wanted them to see that. And every day I'd see him getting ready for work. He'd put on his cross necklace. He'd put his ring on his finger. And the boldness in his demeanor was always fearlessness. He wasn't afraid. He was never afraid. And his daily actions, whether in office or on campus or at a church, it was always without fear. That was his creed.

That is -- that is how he lived out every single day. He didn't fear being slandered. He did not. He didn't fear losing friends, I can tell you that. He didn't.

He didn't care. He stood for truth and stood for freedom, and he did not -- everything else was just a noise to him. And it's because his confidence in Christ was absolute. That's why there was no limit. No limit to what he would have sacrificed to defend freedom for all.

[17:25:02]

And if the moment had come, he probably would have run for president. But not out of ambition. He would only have done it if that was something that he believed that his country needed from a servant's heart standpoint. And Charlie lived only 31 short years. Now he's 32, but on this side of heaven but he lived.

He lived every single second he lived. He filled every single day with purpose. And he fought for truth when it was unpopular, and he stood for God when it was costly. But that's what we're called to do. Surprisingly enough, he did pray for his enemies, which is very hard, but he did.

He did. I -- he did. No one else -- I mean, I saw him do it. No, he never did it in front of anyone else, but I can attest to that. But he also loved people when it was inconvenient.

And he ran his race with endurance, and he kept the faith. And now he wears the crown of a righteous martyr. And for me, and for our children, the truth really studies our grief because heaven gained what earth could no longer contain. A free man made fully free.

And to all watching, this is -- this is not a ceremony, this is a commissioning. And my message is simple. I want you to be the embodiment of this medal. I do. I want you to free yourself from fear.

I want you to stand courageously in the truth. Listen for the still, small voice of God, and remember that while freedom is inherited in this country, each of us must be intentional stewards every single day. God began a mighty work through my husband, and I intend to see it through. And the torch is in our hands now. It's in mine, it's in yours, it's in all of yours, it's in all the students with Turning Point USA.

And before I close, I'll share with you that I asked our daughter what she would like to say to daddy for his birthday. Excuse me. She said, happy birthday, Daddy. I want to give you a stuffed animal. I want you to eat a cupcake with ice cream.

And I want you to go have a birthday surprise. I love you, is what she said. And while our son is precious, he can't yet speak, in classic Kirk family fashion, his actions spoke louder than his words and his gift to you, Charlie, and myself for that matter, was deciding to become the man of the house and be fully potty trained at 16 months.

Charlie, baby, I know that you're celebrating in heaven today, but, gosh, I miss you. We miss you and we love you and we promise we'll make you proud. And Charlie's life was proof that freedom is not a theory, it's a testimony. He showed us that liberty begins not in the halls of power, but in the man of a heart surrendered to God.

And so today, as we honor Charlie with this incredible Presidential Medal of Freedom on his birthday, I stand here with tears and just humbled heart and spirit, because his story reminds us all that to live free is the greatest gift, but to die free is the greatest victory. Happy birthday, my Charlie. Happy Freedom Day. We miss you.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Erika Kirk, the grieving widow of political activist Charlie Kirk, whom President Trump just posthumously bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Trump remembered Charlie Kirk as a quote, America -- amazing person and an American hero. He was of course, as you all recall, assassinated just last month at an event at Utah Valley University.

[17:30:19]

Joining us now to discuss Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas. Senator, obviously a lot of supporters of Charlie Kirk, very moved by the remarks, not only of the President, but perhaps most importantly, Erika Kirk, his widow. Tell us why you think it's so important for -- for Charlie Kirk to be given such a high honor posthumously.

SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS): Yes, well, Jake, so I -- I think of this, it's a tough day. It's a bittersweet day. It's a day we celebrate Charlie's life, but we -- we're still mourning his death at the same time. But because of Charlie Kirk, there are thousands, maybe millions of families that went back to church or to a synagogue for the first time in years that -- that Americans are embracing the values that so many of us were raised on once again.

And -- and regardless of your political affiliation, maybe we -- we can share this moment that Charlie was a patriot and that he was fighting for the same things that so many of us think are important, the right for freedom, for free speech, all those things that were guaranteed in the Constitution, that were written in the Declaration of Independence.

And sometimes we disagree on how to get there, but I hope that -- that most of us in this conversation agree that -- that we should all be fighting for freedoms and to preserve this great country for future generations.

TAPPER: How do you see Charlie's widow, Erika Kirk, who just spoke so movingly, how do you see her carrying his legacy forward?

MARSHALL: Yes, well, Charlie certainly died a martyr, and I think that she has a special opportunity. You know, a scripture that my wife and I often talk about is that of much have given, God requires more of those people. So she's given this moment in time. She has a platform. And I'm sure that she'll use it for good.

And -- and again, if we can just stay focused on this idea of we -- we -- we are the Calvary, we are the patriots, we are -- we're the ones that are going to save this country and bring it through -- to the next generation.

TAPPER: Senator, do you mind if I ask you a question about policy, about a separate issue, or would you rather come back and do it another time, just because I know this is a moving event?

MARSHALL: I'm -- I'm -- I'm happy to talk whatever you want to, Jake.

TAPPER: So I do want to ask you about the -- the government shutdown, obviously. Earlier today, the White House Office of Management and Budget posted on social media, "OMB is making every preparation to batten down the hatches and ride out the Democrats intransigent, pay the troops, pay law enforcement, continue the RIFs," that's basically the firings, reduction in force it stands for, "and wait." More than 3,500 federal workers have already been fired permanently. What is your take on -- on the permanent firing, not just putting people on furlough, but firing them for good?

MARSHALL: Well -- well, look, I -- I value these people. I value the jobs that they're doing. I -- I want to help them find another job. There's 8 million open jobs across the country right now. But let's face it, the government has grown too big. It wasn't too long ago we had 2.1 million federal employees. Today we have over 3 million people. When President Trump was sworn in, we had over 3 million people.

So I -- I think the government does need to shrink some, but I want these people to help find them jobs as well. And -- and I would just ask, where were the crocodile tears when President Biden's E.V. policies created the loss of 2,000 jobs at a General Motors plant in Kansas City? And then they built, they transitioned that over to an E.V. plant, and now, guess what? No one wants E.V. cars.

So there's another couple thousand they're laying off. So no one's job is without risk. I -- I -- I feel for those people. I want to help them find a new job, but the government is -- is simply too big at this moment.

TAPPER: Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, thank you so much for joining us. I know that Charlie Kirk and his legacy were very important to you, so we appreciate your time.

I want to bring in CNN's Kristen Holmes in the Rose Garden. Kristen, President Trump emphasized how big of a deal this award is, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the top civilian award in this country.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, it is a huge award, Jake. It is, as you noted, the top civilian award that someone can be given. And it's not surprising when you really look around the Rose Garden today that President Trump decided to do this.

One, we know that President Trump believed that Charlie Kirk, he felt like family, and also he helped propel him to the White House, which President Trump mentioned in this speech when he was talking about Charlie. But in addition to that, it's not just President Trump and his relationship with Charlie Kirk. You see, when you look around, how many people he actually impacted.

I -- I saw almost every cabinet secretary, if not every cabinet secretary here. You heard Erika Trump -- Erika Kirk, excuse me, talking about her relationship with these various people, including the Vice President and his wife. Charlie Kirk, while he was not in the administration, was essentially part of the administration.

[17:35:08]

He had helped staff the administration. He had helped choose who was in what position, and he talked to these cabinet secretaries, he talked to the President and the Vice President the daily basis. He's one of the only people who had a direct line to almost each and every one of them.

So you can feel why it is that this administration and this President felt the need and desire to celebrate Charlie Kirk's life in that way while you're standing here in the Rose Garden.

TAPPER: All right, Kristen Holmes at the White House, thanks so much.

We also want to get to some other headlines today. There's a lot going on, including the latest in Gaza, with Israel now enforcing a major condition on Hamas. Also this hour, a brand new press policy at the Pentagon, or maybe we should call it an anti-press policy. It just went into effect. We're going to take a look at the major media outlets not going along. You're not going to believe some of the people not participating.

Plus, the terrifying new video from Pennsylvania today showing the moment that an arsonist and attempted assassin set fire to the governor's mansion. We're going to have Governor Shapiro join the show coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:05]

TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, the Secretary of War, as he calls himself, has declared war on the free press. Almost 40 minutes ago at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, media outlets refusing to sign on to the Pentagon's new more restrictive press policy, which would require journalists who are credentialed at the Pentagon to stop reporting any information not cleared in advance.

That -- those reporters were asked to surrender their -- their press badges and clear out their desks. We should note, of course, almost $1 trillion of your tax dollars go to fund the Pentagon. And needless to say, from Abu Ghraib to Abbey Gate, the news media has historically played a crucial role in exposing lies emanating from the Pentagon. CNN's Brian Stelter has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: This is about as packed a news conference as I've ever seen here at the Pentagon.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST (voice-over): Reporters have been posted inside the U.S. military headquarters for decades.

BARBARA STARR, FORMER CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Can you clarify any details about that story?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't.

STELTER (voice-over): Asking questions on behalf of the public.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you commit to making that review public?

STELTER (voice-over): And holding public officials accountable.

LLOYD AUSTIN, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: I want to be crystal clear. We did not handle this right.

STELTER (voice-over): But you haven't seen any of those exchanges lately, because the Trump administration has stopped holding regular Pentagon briefings.

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: For far too long, this department has failed too many of our war fighters.

STELTER (voice-over): Now, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is only allowing press passes for people who sign new rules that, "appear to violate the First Amendment," according to the Association for Pentagon Beat Reporters.

HEGSETH: He may be new to Washington.

STELTER (voice-over): A longtime "Fox News" host is now openly hostile to the media and trying to stop leaks from his department.

HEGSETH: Time and time again, classified information is leaked or peddled for political purposes to try to make the President look bad.

STELTER (voice-over): Media lawyers say the new rules for accessing the Pentagon would criminalize journalism. So, today, in a rare show of solidarity, the country's five biggest T.V. networks said no. CNN, "Fox News," "ABC," "NBC" and "CBS" all saying, "the policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections." Dozens of other outlets are also refusing to sign the papers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here at the Pentagon --

STELTER (voice-over): So, those live shots may be a thing of the past, along with this sense that the press has a key role to play.

DICK CHENEY, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: Probably the most professional operation that I've witnessed consistently have been all of you. We didn't always agree, but it has been a pleasure to work with you for the last four years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STELTER: That was Dick Cheney years ago. Obviously, Hegseth saying very different things today. The Pentagon's deadline was today at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. The only media outlet that we are aware of that has signed this new paperwork is the pro-Trump propaganda streaming service "One America News." Essentially, every other media outlet that covers the Pentagon on a daily basis has rejected this new policy. That means those reporters will be working from the outside in the coming days, weeks and maybe months and years to come.

But you know what? Access is sometimes overrated, Jake. We've already seen some veteran Pentagon beat report -- reporters using this moment to reach out to sources and tell them they want to hear their tips from the outside of the Pentagon's walls.

TAPPER: All right, Brian Stelter, thanks so much.

Here now is a former Secretary of Defense during the Obama administration, Leon Panetta. Secretary Panetta, as a former secretary of defense, what is your reaction to these efforts to limit press access at the Pentagon and require journalists to sign a document saying they'll never report anything, even unclassified matters, unless it has been approved by the Pentagon first?

LEON PANETTA, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: Jake, I think this is a clear violation of the Constitution. What I'd recommend the secretary take a look at is Hugo Black's decision in the Pentagon papers. And let me just read a few lines from that. And I quote, no branch of government can abridge the people's freedom of the press, unquote. Another quote, the press must be left free to publish the news, whatever the source, unquote.

And finally, only a free press can expose deception in the government, unquote. What -- what he's trying to do is clearly restrict the freedom of the press here to be able to report on the news. The Pentagon is the largest department in the federal government, almost 300 million people.

As you pointed out, it's almost a trillion dollars, over a trillion dollars now of taxpayer money is involved. The people have a right to know what's going on at the Department of Defense. So I'm glad the press has taken a strong stand on this. I would hope that the secretary would change his decision.

TAPPER: Here's President Trump when he was asked about these new restrictions earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:45:05]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But I think he finds the press to be very disruptive in terms of world peace and maybe security for our nation. Press is very dishonest, not you, but the press is very dishonest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I don't take issue with the disruptive part of what we do. That is the job to disrupt what people in power are doing, to question what they're doing. I do take issue with him saying the press writ large is dishonest. What's your response?

PANETTA: Well, I -- I find it interesting that the President of the United States is willing to take questions from the press, willing to hold press conferences with the press. I would think that at a minimum, the secretary of defense ought to be willing to do the same thing. We did regular reports when I was secretary of defense, myself and the chairman of joint chiefs, delivering reports to the American people about what we were up to.

They're entitled to that information. And that's not disruptive. The fact is the press has every right to be able to report the news. And I just think that it's blatantly unconstitutional. Why raise that concern? Because it looks like you're trying to hide something from the American people. You know, being open about the truth is the best policy you can have when you're secretary of defense.

TAPPER: He really is -- is Secretary Hegseth really seems to fear any tough questions. He won't do interviews with any except for the friendliest outlets that ask him the friendliest questions. He's barely held any press conferences, him or his press secretaries. He removed a bunch of more established reporters from their offices and put in outlets like Breitbart. And now he is imposing these wildly inappropriate rules that really seem to not understand the basic duties of journalism. Why do you think he's so afraid of any tough questions or any scrutiny?

PANETTA: You know, for a guy who was a commentator on "Fox News," you would think he would understand that somebody like a secretary of defense has to be open to speaking to the press. And the problem, Jake, is that by doing what he's doing now, he's even going to be subject to more attention. Rather than being open, rather than having regular briefings, by trying to hide from the press, he's basically created more problems for himself and for the Defense Department. He's raising hell when he doesn't have to.

TAPPER: Leon Panetta, former secretary of defense, former director of the CIA. Thank you so much, sir. Always a pleasure.

[17:48:07]

New video just in shows Red Cross convoys making their way into Gaza City. Their mission is to retrieve the remains of Israeli hostages killed still in Gaza. The major condition that Israel is enforcing on Hamas, if all of those remains are not turned over at once, we're going to go live to the region, next.

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TAPPER: In our World Lead, new drone video from Gaza City providing a glimpse into what the region looks like today. Utter destruction two years after the war began with Hamas attacking Israel, as Palestinians are returning home and taking stock on what's left, if anything. Back in Israel, the families of two dozen killed hostages desperately await the remains of their loved ones.

Four families did get final confirmation, and the bodies of Bipin Joshi, Guy Illouz, Daniel Peretz, and Yossi Sharabi were formally identified today after Hamas returned their remains yesterday. The White House clearly watching this all closely. President Trump posting on social media, declaring, "the job is not done. The dead have not been returned as promised. Phase two begins right now."

Let's get right to CNN's Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv. And, Jeremy, you have some new reporting about Hamas and the killed Israeli hostages.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Jake. The bodies of four additional hostages have now been handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas. And, in fact, they have just moments ago finally crossed back into Israeli territory where they will head to Israel's National Forensic Institute for DNA identification, we saw the scenes inside the Gaza Strip just a few hours ago of those Red Cross vehicles arriving at some kind of Hamas compound inside of Gaza in order to secure the release of those bodies of deceased hostages.

This now means that Hamas has handed over eight of the 28 deceased hostages that it must return as part of this ceasefire agreement. We have heard today from the families of so many of those deceased hostages who are trying to make sure that the Israeli public, that the American government, that the Israeli government, all don't forget the fight for these hostages is not over yet until all of these bodies will have been returned in order for these families to give their loved ones a proper burial and finally have a chance at some closure.

President Trump himself, as you just noted, said that the work is not done here. We've already seen how the Israeli government is attacking this issue of Hamas's slow pace of release of some of these bodies. They have indicated to the United Nations that they plan to reduce the number of aid shipments going into the Gaza Strip as a result of this. And the security establishment here in Israel also advising that the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, which was set to open tomorrow, that that not be opened as a result, reducing the surge of humanitarian aid that we were supposed to start to see inside of Gaza.

[17:55:06]

And this is just a reminder of how fragile this ceasefire agreement is as the negotiations are now underway in the Egyptian city of Sharm El- Sheikh to talk about the next phases of this deal. Jake?

TAPPER: All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much.

And joining us now is CNN global affairs analyst, Brett McGurk. He has served in senior national security roles under four presidents of both major parties. Thanks for joining us, Brett. So take a listen to President Trump talking about Hamas this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have told them we want disarm. And they will disarm. And if they don't disarm, we will disarm them. And it'll happen quickly and perhaps violently. But they will disarm. You understand me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What is your reaction?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Honestly, Jake, I think that's the right message because if Hamas does not disarm, there's -- there's no hope here. You know, you look at kind of where we are. What is the main -- one of the main obstacles to get to this phase one in the extraordinary day we had yesterday? And I don't want to lose sight of that. But to the longer term and a rehabilitated Gaza and a pathway to two states, which is in the Trump plan, Hamas cannot retain power in Gaza.

Right now, under this deal, you have a bifurcated Gaza. Israeli forces control more than half the territory, actually. And in that other territory where all the people are, Hamas has come out of the tunnels during the ceasefire just like they didn't pass these fires with guns to retake control of the population, execute people in the streets. That's what they're doing.

And if they retain power in Gaza, there will not be a pathway to two states. There will not be a reconstruction plan. There's no hope. And so he's right. I mean, that is a core component of the plan. That is a component of the plan that is endorsed by the Arab and Muslim-majority states. First time we have that consensus, very important. But how do you get from A to B, Jake? That's going to be extremely, extremely hard.

TAPPER: So the Israeli military said today that they opened fire in Gaza after seeing people crossing that yellow line, the demarcation zone. The initial Israeli withdrawal, as shown in the ceasefire map released by the White House, on top of this, Israel says it's going to reduce the amount of A they can get into Gaza because of the lack of promised hostage remains, of the dead hostages. I don't want to take away credit for the ceasefire, which is so important, but these are some warning signs of a shakiness, a fragility, not a surprise, but still to the first few days of the ceasefire.

MCGURK: Yes, you're now in the nitty-gritty of -- of implementation, and every day is difficult. You know, the -- the hostage deal, the one that we did in January, 600 trucks a day of humanitarian aid come in. If Hamas claimed there's only 550 trucks, they would say, now we're not going to release hostages.

You kind of had that going on. The games they're playing with the remains here, I'm -- I'm very suspicious that Hamas does not know where most of the remains are. These are valuable commodities. This is a grim logic, but the remains are valuable. Hamas knows it. Hamas wants the remains of their people, including their two leaders, the Sinwar brothers. I just find it dubious that they suddenly say, actually, we don't know where the remains are. We have to have time to look for them. I think they're using them, they're using what they have left for leverage now that the living hostages, thankfully, are all free.

TAPPER: President Trump just said a U.S. strike killed six men in a boat off the coast of Venezuela that President Trump calls narco- terrorists. This is at least the fifth such U.S. strike. This is the President using powers given to him or given to previous presidents to go after terrorists and using them against drug traffickers. Do you think that drug traffickers qualify as terrorists?

MCGURK: I tell you, Jake, this is, you know, I've been in the situation a lot in matters of war and peace, and every -- every time before the military instrument of power is used, you have a legal team there and they ask two questions. What is the domestic legal basis and what is the international legal basis?

And here the administration has a fairly novel theory. They're using a very broad application of self-defense under Article 2. Basically, the argument is that 80,000Americans die from narcotics overdoses every year and therefore we're in a kind of unstated, non-international armed conflict against these groups. That is basically their argument. It's a novel theory and I think Congress has some work to do here to figure out exactly what the legal basis is.

All that said, the President has broad authority in this area. I don't think any court is going to stop this. So this is kind of where we're moving. I, but I'd like Congress to have a, have more of a say and get involved in this. They have war making power.

TAPPER: Brett McGurk, thank you so much as always.

MCGURK: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, scary new images just released from the April arson attack on the home of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. The suspect pleaded guilty today. And Governor Shapiro is going to join The Lead for an exclusive interview in just a moment.

[18:00:03]

Also, we're hearing more from family members of the 20 freed hostages after yesterday's emotional reunions.