"affirms the publication's independence" = Says it's independent.
"expanding Defense Department oversight, introducing new restrictions" = makes it non-independent.
Conclusion: The sentence indicates the policy is hypocritical and built on lies. The sentence is not contradictory, the policy is.
Here, watch; I hereby affirm that I am god incarnate, that I have no flaws, and that every unit test I’ve ever written has passed on the first try. It cannot be denied that I affirmed that!
reply
"affirms the publication's independence" = Says it's independent.
"expanding Defense Department oversight, introducing new restrictions" = makes it non-independent.
Conclusion: The sentence indicates the policy is hypocritical and built on lies. The sentence is not contradictory, the policy is.