The White House is tired of Congress. They’re getting in his way and obstructing his plans.
That’s why President Trump is stripping Congress of a long-standing privilege for stabbing him in the back.
Trump Admin Cracks Down on Leaks After Iran Strike Intel Breach
The Trump administration is moving to tighten control over classified information shared with Congress following a damaging leak about U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, a report revealed Thursday. The decision comes as the administration pushes back against media narratives questioning the success of the weekend operation, which President Trump has hailed as a decisive blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
On Saturday, U.S. forces conducted precision strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, an operation the administration described as a strategic masterstroke. However, a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment, reported by outlets like CNN and The New York Times on Tuesday, suggested the strikes only delayed Iran’s nuclear program by a few months. The report also noted that Iran had moved much of its enriched uranium stockpile before the attack.
The administration swiftly dismissed the leaked assessment as incomplete and misleading. On Wednesday, President Trump, speaking in The Hague alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, called the intelligence “very inconclusive.” He emphasized the operation’s success, likening it to historic military victories and insisting it set Iran’s nuclear capabilities back “basically decades.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed the president’s confidence, announcing Thursday that subsequent reports, including one from the CIA, confirmed Iran’s nuclear program was “severely damaged.” Hegseth, speaking at the NATO summit in the Netherlands, criticized the leaked DIA report as “preliminary” and “low-confidence,” accusing media outlets of spinning it for political gain. “This is a political motive here,” he told reporters, referencing the top-secret nature of the document.
🚨 BREAKING: SecDef Pete Hegseth stares right at the press and goes scorched earth, spelling out their insanity. I could watch this all day.
"You, and I mean specifically YOU, the press, you cheer against Trump so hard, it's in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump,… pic.twitter.com/nmazQcUP8a
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 26, 2025
The leak, which surfaced on CAPNET—a system used to share classified information with Congress—has sparked outrage within the administration. “Go figure: Almost as soon as we put the information on CAPNET, it leaks,” an administration source told Axios. “There’s no reason to do this again.” The administration now plans to limit the use of CAPNET to prevent further breaches.
A senior White House official, speaking to Axios, put it bluntly: “We are declaring a war on leakers.” The administration’s frustration stems from what it sees as a deliberate attempt to undermine a significant national security achievement. The FBI has launched an investigation into the leak, with Hegseth confirming it targets those who disclosed the preliminary battle damage assessment.
President Trump didn’t mince words when addressing the media outlets that published the leaked assessment. Calling CNN, The New York Times, and NBC “scum,” he accused them of distorting the operation’s success. “This was an unbelievable hit by genius pilots and genius people in the military, and they’re not being given credit for it because we have scum that’s in this room,” Trump said, singling out specific outlets as “bad people” and “sick.”
The administration’s narrative has been bolstered by other key figures. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a sit-down with Politico, argued that media reports “mischaracterized” the extent of the damage to Iran’s nuclear sites. Similarly, Steve Witkoff, the administration’s special envoy for Middle East affairs, called the leak “treasonous” during a Fox News appearance late Tuesday.
Congressional Democrats have voiced frustration over the lack of a formal briefing on the strikes, but the administration’s focus remains on containing leaks. The DIA report, which was uploaded to CAPNET late Monday, was quickly picked up by media, fueling the administration’s distrust of current information-sharing protocols.
Trump has consistently framed the operation as a triumph, drawing parallels to the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan in World War II. “They really don’t know,” he said of the leaked report’s findings, adding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would soon provide clarity on the strikes’ impact. Israel, a key ally, has been closely involved in assessing the operation’s outcomes.
The administration’s pushback extends beyond rhetoric. Hegseth confirmed that the FBI’s leak investigation is actively underway, emphasizing that the classified assessment was intended for internal use only. “CNN and others are trying to spin it to make the president look bad, when this was an overwhelming success,” he said, highlighting the operation’s precision and effectiveness.
While media outlets reported that Iran’s nuclear program was set back by only a few months, administration officials have cited subsequent intelligence indicating far greater damage. The CIA’s latest assessment, referenced by Hegseth, paints a starkly different picture from the leaked DIA report, reinforcing the administration’s claims of a crippling blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
By limiting CAPNET access, the White House aims to prevent future breaches that could compromise sensitive operations or fuel misleading narratives. Critics of the administration, particularly in the media, have faced sharp rebukes. Trump’s fiery remarks in The Hague unveiled his frustration with outlets he believes are working to downplay his administration’s achievements. “They’re trying to make this unbelievable victory into something less,” he said, defending the military’s “genius” execution of the strikes.
The administration remains steadfast in its portrayal of the Iran operation as a landmark success. With allies like Israel expected to corroborate the strikes’ impact, the Trump team is doubling down on its narrative, determined to reinforce the idea that the American public should be proud of its military personnel for such a resounding success.
🚨 JUST IN: The Iran intelligence report leak may have come from Congress, per Karoline Leavitt
There is ZERO REASON to allow Democrat activists in Congress access to classified docs. They can't be trusted.
I don't care how much they whine. Keep them in the dark. pic.twitter.com/Gtg3HXohMu
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 26, 2025
