Trump Calls for Prosecution of Unnamed Democrats Over Iran Intel Leak
By Brett Wilkins | Common Dreams on Comments Off on Trump Calls for Prosecution of Unnamed Democrats Over Iran Intel Leak
The president blamed unidentified Democrats for leaking information he repeatedly claimed was “fake news”—until his own defense secretary said it was real.
Trump. Image-Youtube screengrab
Without providing any evidence or naming any names, U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday called for the prosecution of Democrats who he said “leaked information” that contradicted his claim to have inflicted “monumental damage” to Iran’s nuclear sites during last week’s unprovoked attack on the Mideast nation.
Trump took to his Truth Social network to write: “The Democrats are the ones who leaked the information on the PERFECT FLIGHT to the Nuclear Sites in Iran. They should be prosecuted!”
Earlier Thursday, four sources familiar with the matter toldAxios that the president plans to restrict the sharing of classified information with members of Congress following the leaking of a preliminary Defense Intelligence Agency battle damage assessment. The DIA analysis suggested that the U.S. bombing only partially damaged Iran’s nuclear facilities and set its nuclear program back by a few months.
The report contradicts Trump’s claim that “monumental damage was done to all nuclear sites in Iran,” and that “obliteration is an accurate term!”
One of the sources told Axios: “We are declaring a war on leakers. The FBI is investigating the leak. The intelligence community is figuring out how to tighten up their processes so we don’t have ‘deep state’ actors leaking parts of intel analysis that have ‘low confidence’ to the media.”
In a Thursday interview with NBC News, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said that “there was a leak, and we’re trying to get down to the bottom of that. It’s dangerous and ridiculous that happened. We’re going to solve that problem.”
Asked if he believed the leak came from Congress, Johnson replied, “That’s my suspicion.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday during the NATO summit in The Hague that the Pentagon has launched a criminal probe into the leak. Hegseth also notably contradicted previous claims by Trump that media outlets reported “fake news” about the DIA analysis, confirming the leaked assessment’s findings but explaining that they are “preliminary.”
