Pablo Rossi publicly supported the national government’s decision to close the Casa Rosada press room after the scandal generated by the recording made by Luciana Geuna and Ignacio Salerno inside the government headquarters. During his television and radio interventions, the journalist maintained that the episode represented “a very serious violation of security regulations” and argued that the Executive “had the right to review the protocols” in the face of what he defined as “irresponsible” behavior. The driver also stated that “it cannot be naturalized that journalists film sensitive areas without authorization” and considered that the official reaction “was foreseeable in the face of an unprecedented event.”
The host insisted that the episode exceeded the discussion on press freedom and that it should be analyzed “from an institutional and security point of view.” In that sense, he defended the preventive suspension of access to accredited journalists and stressed that “the Casa Rosada is not a television studio.” He also questioned the use of hidden devices during coverage and maintained that “if there were smart glasses to record images, then there was a deliberate desire to avoid controls.”
On his social networks, given Rossi’s statements, Marcelo Longobardi He questioned his colleague’s statements. “If we don’t want to be regulated, censored, hindered, we have to have management, self-management, raising quality,” Longobardi quoted verbatim in front of the camera, paraphrasing the La Nación+ communicator. “With so many noble professions such as an Uber driver, a pediatrician, a volunteer firefighter, why don’t you dedicate yourself to something else? Instead of acting as a government sucker, it’s very sad,” he concluded.
Beyond Longobardi’s strong criticism of the situation presented by Rossi, the government measures generated strong rejection among all colleagues and press workers accredited at Balcarce 50. Since the suspension, the context at Casa Rosada was especially tense for reporters because the Government had made the decision to block the entry of all accredited journalists, deactivate biometric fingerprints for access and close the press room for an indefinite period of time, something that generated widespread rejection in entities such as FOPEA, ADEPA and organizations linked to freedom of expression.
The conflict began weeks ago, after the broadcast of a television report headed by Geuna for his TN journalistic cycle and produced together with Salerno, accredited at the Casa Rosada, where internal images of the hallways and circulation areas of the government building were shown. The material was recorded using smart glasses with a built-in camera. The national government, through the Military House, filed a criminal complaint for alleged illegal espionage and argued that the recording violated presidential security protocols.
The administration of Javier Milei He assured that the images were obtained “without authorization” and maintained that there was no formal request to film inside the government headquarters. An official statement even accused journalists of having filmed “secretly” and claimed that hidden devices were used in “restricted areas.” For his part, Geuna rejected these accusations and publicly maintained that “it was not a clandestine recording.” In his television defense he explained that the objective of the report was to show the daily political dynamics within the Casa Rosada and stated that the images were taken “in spaces of common circulation.” He also stated that officials from the press area were aware of the production of the material.
Finally, the conflict was partially decompressed after several days of strong political, judicial and media pressure on the national government. The Milei administration finally decided to reopen the Casa Rosada press room and restore the entry of accredited journalists, although under a much more restrictive scheme and with new security controls.
The decision came after a week of criticism from journalistic organizations and complaints in Congress, in a measure that many chroniclers considered unprecedented since the democratic return. The Executive Branch maintained the complaint presented by Casa Militar against Geuna and Salerno, but backed down with the absolute blockade of those accredited and re-enabled Manuel Adorni’s conferences.
The resolution caused a strong political and journalistic controversy because it affected dozens of reporters unrelated to the episode. Organizations linked to freedom of expression and numerous journalists denounced that the measure had no precedent since the democratic return and described it as a collective sanction. The episode also deepened the tension between the journalists themselves, in a context of growing confrontation between politics and the media.
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