The US defense secretary, ⁠Pete Hegseth, announced day that the Pentagon and the US Department of Justice have created a “joint taskforce to identify and prosecute” what he called the “unauthorized disclosure of sensitive” information to the press, marking the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s effort to crackdown on leaks, writes The Guardian.

In a ⁠video posted on X, Hegseth said that “to combat the dangers that leaks pose, effectively immediately, I have delegated tasking authority to the war department’s office ⁠of general counsel, empowering OGC to request and receive all information, ⁠records and support across the department concerning media ⁠leak investigations”.

“Leaked information risks lives, these new tools and processes will greatly assist us in protecting our joint force,” he said. “The security of our nation cannot be a bargaining chip for those who seek momentary headlines, access to confidential and secret information is a sacred trust, and those who betray that trust will be met with the full force of the law.”

In his remarks, he also thanked the acting US attorney general, Todd Blanche, “for his help in this important project”, and said that he was “proud that our departments are working together closer than we have ever before”.

The new taskforce comes as over the weekend, the New York Times said that the Trump administration issued subpoenas to several of the paper’s journalists, after they reported on security concerns regarding Donald Trump’s new Qatari-gifted plane.