SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks while U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks on during a June 25, 2025 press conference at ther NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands.
(Photo: Zhao Dingzhe/Xinhua via Getty Images)
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.
Jun 26, 2025
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!"
Trump calls for the prosecution of “The Democrats” for leaking information about the strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.If the leaked information is not accurate, why is Trump so mad about it?
[image or embed]
— Republican Accountability (@accountablegop.bsky.social) June 26, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Earlier Thursday, four sources familiar with the matter told Axios 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."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
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!"
Trump calls for the prosecution of “The Democrats” for leaking information about the strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.If the leaked information is not accurate, why is Trump so mad about it?
[image or embed]
— Republican Accountability (@accountablegop.bsky.social) June 26, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Earlier Thursday, four sources familiar with the matter told Axios 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."
From Your Site Articles
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!"
Trump calls for the prosecution of “The Democrats” for leaking information about the strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.If the leaked information is not accurate, why is Trump so mad about it?
[image or embed]
— Republican Accountability (@accountablegop.bsky.social) June 26, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Earlier Thursday, four sources familiar with the matter told Axios 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."
From Your Site Articles
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.