Tensions rose at the White House briefing on Wednesday as Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich sharply questioned Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt over a major security blunder in the Trump administration. The incident involved the accidental sharing of sensitive military plans with The Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg.
The leaked communication reportedly included key operational details, such as weapon systems and launch times, sparking concerns about national security. During the press briefing, Heinrich challenged Leavitt’s assertion that the leaked material was not classified.
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“So why aren’t launch times on a mission strike classified?” Heinrich asked pointedly. Leavitt responded, “Again, I would defer you to the Secretary of Defense’s statement he put out this morning. There were various reasons he listed, things that were not included in that messaging thread that were not classified.”
Instead of directly addressing the question, Leavitt pivoted to criticize Goldberg, calling him “a registered Democrat and an anti-Trump sensationalist reporter.”
Heinrich, undeterred, refocused on the potential impact on military personnel. “Just for American service members who are going to have to carry out these missions in the future… if these messages had gone out publicly prior to the launch, that wouldn’t have been a risk to service members?”
She pressed further: “Had these messages been published, would the plans have moved forward, would the launch have still taken off?” Leavitt defended the administration, praising Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as “an incredible man and a war fighter” who takes the safety of American troops “with the utmost responsibility.”
In a broader deflection, she criticized Democrats and the media: “We are not going to be lectured about national security and American troops by Democrats and the mainstream media who turned the other cheek when the Biden administration, because of their incompetence, left 13 service members dead in Afghanistan.”
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Leavitt added that the leak was due to a misstep by a staffer: “The national security advisor has taken responsibility for this inadvertent number being added to the messaging thread.”
She concluded by emphasizing the administration’s priorities: “Above all, we take the lives of our troops, safety, security, prosperity around the globe with the utmost seriousness.” Despite repeated assurances, the incident has raised further questions about internal protocols and how such a sensitive mistake occurred in the first place.
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