CNN Says It Stands '100% Behind' Correspondent Natasha Bertrand After Donald Trump Calls For Her Firing
After Donald Trump again attacked CNN and singled out correspondent Natasha Bertrand for her reporting on an early intel assessment of the Iran bombings, the network has responded by saying it stands '100% behind' her and her work.
CNN was the first outlet to report on a Defense Intelligence Agency assessment that the U.S. bombing strikes on Iran Saturday likely set the country's nuclear program back only by months. The network made it clear in the story that it was a preliminary assessment. Other outlets, including The New York Times, the AP, Reuters and NBC News, followed up with similar reports.
More from Deadline
Donald Trump Lashes Out After CNN And Other Outlets Report On Intel That U.S. Bombings Only Set Back Iran's Nuclear Program By A Few Months
Hours After Lashing Out At NBC News, Donald Trump Talks To Network About 'Unlimited' Israel-Iran Ceasefire
Judge's "Fair Use" Ruling In Favor Of Anthropic Is Likely Just The Start Of Lengthy Copyright Battles Over AI Training Models
Bertrand covers the Pentagon and national security for the network.
'We stand 100% behind Natasha Bertrand's journalism and specifically her and her colleagues' reporting of the early intelligence assessment of the U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities,' the news network said in a statement. 'CNN's reporting made clear that this was an initial finding that could change with additional intelligence. We have extensively covered President Trump's own deep skepticism about it.
'However, we do not believe it is reasonable to criticize CNN reporters for accurately reporting on the existence of the assessment and accurately characterizing its findings, which are in the public interest.'
Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to confirm the existence of the intelligence assessment in a statement she released on Tuesday, while taking issue with its findings. But Trump and his allies seem to be attacking CNN for merely reporting on the assessment, even claiming that such reports are demeaning the members of the military who carried out the strikes.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump wrote on Truth Social, 'Natasha Bertrand should be FIRED from CNN! I watched her for three days doing Fake News. She should be IMMEDIATELY reprimanded, and then thrown out 'like a dog.' She lied on the Laptop from Hell Story, and now she lied on the Nuclear Sites Story, attempting to destroy our Patriot Pilots by making them look bad when, in fact, they did a GREAT job and hit 'pay dirt' — TOTAL OBLITERATION! She should not be allowed to work at Fake News CNN. It's people like her who destroyed the reputation of a once great Network. Her slant was so obviously negative, besides, she doesn't have what it takes to be an on camera correspondent, not even close. FIRE NATASHA!'
The White House issued a release, titled 'CNN Spews Fake News Based on Leaked Low-Confidence Intel.' Included was a statement from the Defense Intelligence Agency saying, 'This is a preliminary, low confidence report and will continue to be refined as additional intelligence becomes available. We are working with the appropriate authorities to investigate the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.'
At a press conference at the NATO summit on Wednesday, Trump called on CNN's Kaitlin Collins, telling her 'you really should say how great our soliders and our warriors are.'
'I think everyone appreciates our soldiers and our warriors,' Collins said, before asking him two questions.
Trump said that they have 'collected additional intelligence. We've also spoken to people who have seen the site, and the site it obliterated. And we think everything nuclear is down there. They didn't take it out.'
Best of Deadline
Everything We Know About 'My Life With The Walter Boys' Season 2 So Far
Everything We Know About The 'Reminders of Him' Movie So Far
Everything We Know About The 'Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping' Movie So Far
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
There were toe-curling displays of affection towards 'Daddy' Trump at the NATO summit - but like it or not, it worked
Donald Trump the "daddy" and a NATO summit marked by simpering gratitude. That was the overriding theme of a day-and-a-half of defence and diplomacy at The Hague. Like it or not, the fawning praise by Mark Rutte, the head of NATO, and many other European allies appears to have paid off, with the US president heading home seemingly back on board with the notion of collective defence - for now. The most toe-curling display of affection towards Mr Trump came when he, along with Mr Rutte, were speaking to reporters about how the US commander-in-chief brokered a ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran. "They've had a big fight, like two kids in a schoolyard," Mr Trump said. "You know, they fight like hell. You can't stop it. Let them fight for about two, three minutes, then it's easy to stop them." Mr Rutte added: "And then Daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get it stopped." I later asked Mr Trump at a news conference at the end of the summit about being called "Daddy" and whether he regards his NATO allies as children. The president said: "He likes me. I think he likes me. If he doesn't, I'll let you know. I'll come back and I'll hit him hard. Okay? He did it. Very affectionate. Daddy. You're my daddy." I continued the question, though, to ask again whether he views fellow NATO member states as children and once they bolster their defences, might they be able to defend themselves without needing to rely on the US. The president said he thought they would still need help from the start. As for whether they could go it alone without the United States in the future, he said: "Ask Mark [Rutte]." For now, the feeling at the summit was more harmonious than hostile. Read more: Whether that sentiment endures will depend on everyone being true to their word and increasing defence spending to a new target of 3.5% of GDP - up from 2% - with an additional 1.5% of GDP to be invested in national resilience. It adds up to 5% in total - a figure first touted by Mr Trump when he returned to the White House for his second term and resumed an attack on NATO, accusing too many of its members of freeloading off American security instead of paying to defend themselves. The US president, though, seemed to think the boost to budgets would be happening quickly, whereas the shortest timeline all 32 allies could agree to is 10 years. Spain has been even more flaky, agreeing to the new target but making clear it won't be met. As well as disappointing Mr Trump, such a slow pace of change is also woefully inadequate to rearm member states in time to confront what the Baltic states and Poland believe to be a very real risk of Vladimir Putin testing the alliance's defences within the next five years.
CNN
43 minutes ago
- CNN
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Issues New Warning: Ayatollah Absent - Erin Burnett OutFront - Podcast on CNN Podcasts
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Issues New Warning: Ayatollah Absent Erin Burnett OutFront 49 mins Top Iranian officials issue a public warning as Ayatollah Khamenei is nowhere to be seen. Plus, Trump's CIA director and director of national intelligence back his claims that Iran's nuclear program was severely damaged. But, what happened to Iran's massive stashes of uranium?
New York Post
43 minutes ago
- New York Post
Trump admin sanctions three Mexican financial firms over suspected links to drug cartels
The Trump administration on Wednesday restricted US banks from making transactions with three Mexican financial firms over concerns that they are laundering money for drug cartels. The sanctions – the first implemented under the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act – targeted Mexican banks CIBanco and Intercam Banco and the brokerage firm Vector Casa de Bolsa, which have a combined $22 billion in assets, according to the Treasury Department. 'Cartels have exploited Mexico-based financial institutions to move money, enabling the vicious fentanyl supply chain that has poisoned countless Americans,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on X. 'Through the first use of a new powerful authority granted by Congress, Treasury will effectively require US financial institutions to sever ties with 3 Mexico-based financial institutions for laundering money on behalf of cartels,' Bessent added. 'Both the United States and Mexico are committed to financial systems with strong anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism controls and these actions affirm Treasury's commitment to using all tools at our disposal to counter the threat posed by terrorist organizations.' 4 Trump designated several Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups earlier this year. REUTERS The sanctions were implemented after the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) determined that CIBanco, Intercam and Vector were 'moving money on behalf of cartels' and had become 'vital cogs in the fentanyl supply chain,' according to Bessent. FinCen's investigation found a 'long-standing pattern of associations, transactions, and provision of financial services' between CIBanco and Intercam and several Mexican drug trafficking groups, including Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and Gulf Cartel. Between 2021 and 2024, CIBanco and Intercam processed over $3.6 million in purchases of fentanyl precursor chemicals from China, shipped to Mexico, for 'illicit purposes,' according to FinCen. The financial crimes watchdog further alleged that Intercam executives 'met directly with suspected CJNG members' in 2022 'to discuss money laundering schemes, including transferring funds from China,' and that a CIBanco employee 'knowingly facilitated the creation of an account to purportedly launder $10 million on behalf of a Gulf Cartel member' in 2023. 4 The sanctions were imposed under new authorities granted to Trump administration to combat illegal fentanyl. Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images 4 Treasury's financial crimes watchdog, FinCen, conducted the investigation against the Mexican banks. Vector's alleged dealings with drug cartels date back to 2013, according to FinCen, which found a Sinaola Cartel 'money mule' laundered at least $2 million from the US to Mexico through the brokerage firm. In 2021 alone, Vector 'remitted over USD 17 million in suspicious wire transfers to multiple China-based companies … on behalf of a company that was reportedly tied to an international drug trafficking organization,' according to FinCen. Since at least 2019, Vector processed fund transfers to 'over 20 China-based companies' that shipped fentanyl precursor chemicals to Mexico. 'Based on non-public information, as well as the volume and dollar amount of funds transfers that Vector processed over several years with these companies, FinCEN assesses that such transactions likely facilitated illicit opioid trafficking by Mexico-based [drug trafficking organizations],' the Treasury Department bureau noted. 4 The sanctions will prohibit US banks from making certain transactions with the three Mexican firms. FinCen also discovered that Vector processed 'bribes' paid by the Sinaloa Cartel to a former top Mexican law enforcement official who was convicted of corruption charges in 2023. The Treasury Department said it aims to deny anyone associated with Mexican drug cartels deemed Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and/or Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the Trump administration 'access to the US financial system.'
