WASHINGTON — President Trump claimed Thursday that congressional Democrats leaked a preliminary Pentagon intelligence assessment that questioned the impact of Saturday’s airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear program.
“The Democrats are the ones who leaked the information on the PERFECT FLIGHT to the Nuclear Sites in Iran. They should be prosecuted!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
It’s unclear if Trump has evidence pointing to a culprit as the FBI investigates the Tuesday leak of the Defense Intelligence Agency assessment drafted shortly after the strike that said Iran’s nuclear development may only have been set back months.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said shortly before Trump’s claim that Democrats in Congress may have been responsible — though she described no specific evidence and said no conclusions had been made.
“It could have been someone in the intelligence community, or it could have been someone on Capitol Hill who had access to this document. The FBI is searching for that person,” Leavitt told reporters.
“We have seen this playbook run before, where you have people in the intelligence community — or perhaps on Capitol Hill, we don’t know — but I believe the FBI is investigating to find out who that leaker was, because it’s illegal and they should be held accountable.”
Democrats have complained that too little information has been shared about Trump’s unprecedented strike on three Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz.
CNN’s Natasha Bertrand first reported on the preliminary DIA assessment Tuesday — and the New York Times, ABC, CNN, the Washington Post and the Associated Press quickly followed suit.
The rapid confirmation suggests that someone who regularly engages with the media served at minimum as a corroborating source for news outlets.
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Leavitt said Thursday that very few people had access to the DIA report before Tuesday’s leak, which the White House alleges was done to undermine the significance of the strikes that resulted in a cease-fire between Iran and Israel and what US agencies and international assessors say was massive damage.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the vice chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, brushed aside Trump’s threat to prosecute Democrats.
“I have been extraordinarily consistent that leaks of any kind should be prosecuted. I simply wish that the administration would adhere to that same level of secrecy about classified information that shouldn’t be shared on non-classified channels like Signal,” Warner told reporters after senators got a classified briefing on the strikes.
Both Warner and committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) declined to answer questions from The Post about whether they knew of the DIA’s preliminary assessment before it was leaked to CNN.
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A spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), denied that the Brooklyn Democrat was briefed on the intelligence report before it was leaked.
“Chairman [Rick] Crawford [R-Ark.] does not comment on real or alleged classified information,” a spokesperson for the House intelligence committee said. “He has long been frustrated with the repeated, blatant disregard for the very simple, proper handling of classified information by those entrusted to safeguard sensitive information. Chairman Crawford is confident there will be a thorough investigation into the matter and any offenders will face significant consequences. Under Chairman Crawford, the Committee is redoubling its efforts to prevent any mishandling of classified information on his watch. President Trump and the American people should know that we are taking this seriously and that the Committee can be trusted with classified material.”
Crawford, Cotton, Schumer and Warner are all members of the Gang of Eight, a group of lawmakers who have special access to highly classified information.
Additional reporting by Josh Christenson
