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Axios
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Axios
"Leaks are a problem": Congress feuds over Trump limits on sharing intel
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wants to know what President Trump is "hiding" after the White House decided to limit the classified intel it shares with Congress, as Axios scooped earlier today. But House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told Axios "there'll be a price to pay" after "classified documents were not only leaked, they were offered for view by Democrats." Why it matters: Democrats see the Trump decision — made after an alleged leak of intelligence earlier this week — as a significant escalation in what they say is the White House's attempt to stonewall Congress about the Iran conflict. But the White House is "declaring a war on leakers," a source told Axios' Marc Caputo. "Almost as soon as we put the information on [CAPNET, the system used to share intel with Congress], it leaks," an administration source said. 🤬 Down the line, high-ranking Democrats vented to Axios about Trump's plans: "It must be bad news," Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin told Axios. "They were embarrassed by the leak because it suggested that they did not obliterate the Iran nuclear program as promised." House Intel ranking member Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said the leak is "unacceptable and should be fully investigated," but that it's "also unacceptable for the Administration to use unsubstantiated speculation" to "justify cutting off Congress." Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on Senate Intel, told Axios he wanted more information before issuing a full statement, but offered: "It would be extraordinarily disturbing." The other side: "Leaks are a problem ... I was an FBI agent and I'm on Intel now — briefers are oftentimes afraid to honestly testify because they don't trust Congress' ability to keep quiet and respect the rules," Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) told Axios. "I am furious with the repeated, blatant disregard for the very simple, proper handling of classified information," House Intel chair Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) told Axios. I will continue to work with the Administration to ensure information to keep Congress fully and currently informed is shared via the appropriate Committees with appropriate oversight responsibilities," he said. Johnson reiterated his dismay."There was a very serious breach of rules and protocols here. It's really sad when the administration cannot trust members of Congress, in the other party."
5 hours ago
- Politics
Trump administration plans to limit classified info it shares with Congress on Iran attack
The Trump administration is planning to limit classified information shared with Congress, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The move comes after a classified initial intelligence assessment showed that U.S. military strikes President Donald Trump ordered on Iran's nuclear facilities last weekend did not completely destroy the country's nuclear program but likely set it back a few months, according to sources familiar with the early findings. The administration is planning to limit classified information it shares on CAPNET, the classified information sharing system used by both the House and Senate, the sources said. It was not immediately clear how much information the administration plans to limit moving forward. The administration has not publicly alleged that CAPNET was the source of the information about the initial assessment. The administration has said that the FBI is investigating the leak. The news of the White House's plans was first reported by Axios. The House and Senate were originally scheduled to receive classified briefings on the strikes in Iran on Tuesday before those briefings were delayed. The Senate will now receive a briefing Thursday and the House is expected to be briefed on Friday.
The Hill
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
White House moves to limit sharing of some classified info with Congress after Iran leak
The Trump administration is planning to limit the amount of classified information it shares with Congress moving forward amid uproar over an internal preliminary assessment that found U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities may not have been as devastating as the president claimed. The move is prompting Democratic pushback from those who argue it would be unwise to restrict congressional access based on suspicion. A White House official confirmed the decision, which was first reported by Axios. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced earlier Wednesday that the Pentagon was launching an investigation into the leak of the assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency. 'I am told by the FBI the leak already is being investigated, and it absolutely should be because this was a top secret intelligence analysis that very few people in the United States government had access to see,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News Wednesday. The U.S. last Saturday carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities. Despite assertions from the administration that the strikes set the country's nuclear capabilities back by years, an initial intelligence assessment obtained by some media outlets suggested the damage was more limited, setting the program back only by a few months. According to Axios, the information was shared shortly after it was posted on CAPNET, a system used to share information with Congress. Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, criticized the administration's plans. 'The leak of classified information is unacceptable and should be fully investigated and those responsible held accountable. It's also unacceptable for the Administration to use unsubstantiated speculation about the source of a leak to justify cutting off Congress from classified intelligence reporting, particularly when over a million people within the Executive Branch have clearance to access classified top-secret reporting,' he said. 'The law requires the congressional intelligence committees to be kept fully and currently informed, and I expect the Intelligence Community to comply with the law,' he continued. Lawmakers were set to receive classified briefings on Tuesday about the Trump administration's strikes against Iran, but they were postponed until later this week. The Senate briefing will now take place on Thursday. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced the House briefing would be Friday. Administration officials have aggressively pushed back on reporting about an early internal assessment that found the U.S. strikes delayed Iran's nuclear program by only a few months. Trump and others have referred to the sites as 'obliterated' and argued they all but eliminated Iran's ability to pursue a nuclear weapon. President Trump also cited an assessment from the Israel Atomic Energy Commission about the success of the U.S. strikes on the Iranian nuclear facilities, which, together with Israeli strikes, set back Iran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon 'by many years.'
Axios
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Axios
Scoop: Trump to limit sharing classified info with Congress after leak on Iran bombing damage
The Trump administration plans to limit sharing classified information with Congress after someone leaked an internal assessment suggesting that Saturday's bombings of Iran's nuclear facilities weren't as successful as President Trump claimed, four sources tell Axios. The FBI also is investigating the leak, the sources said. Why it matters: The leaking of the preliminary Defense Intelligence Agency's "Battle Damage Assessment" outraged Trump and top U.S. officials, who said it was incomplete and that its release was aimed at undercutting Trump's claims that Iran's nuclear sites had been "obliterated." "We are declaring a war on leakers," a senior White House official said Wednesday. "The FBI is investigating the leak," the source said. "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." Zoom in: The administration sources say they're planning to limit posting on CAPNET, a system the administration uses to share classified information with Congress. The DIA's assessment on the Iran bombings was put on CAPNET late Monday. The next afternoon, CNN and then The New York Times, reported snippets of the assessment. The early media reports indicated that Iran's nuclear program had been set back only by a matter of months, instead of being "obliterated." Zoom out: Democrats in Congress already were upset at the administration for refusing to brief some members before the bombings, and the White House's plans to further restrict the sharing of classified information are likely to provoke a fresh round of criticism. Administration officials are unmoved, however. "Go figure: Almost as soon as we put the information on CAPNET, it leaks," an administration source said. "There's no reason to do this again." Between the lines: The sources who spoke with Axios said they couldn't disclose more details of the DIA assessment, but emphasized three aspects of the report: It took was put together in the 24 hours after the bombings, and was based on a review of satellite photos and not on-the-ground witnesses to the damage. It was just one early "snapshot" of information from only one of the 18 agencies in the intelligence community. The report self-acknowledged the "low confidence" of the assessment, which was to be used as a tool to guide whether the administration wanted to bomb the facilities again. Then there's the early assessment by Israeli intelligence services, who said the U.S. and Israeli strikes caused "very significant" damage. The big picture: Since his first run for president in 2016, when his campaign was investigated for its ties to Russia, Trump has been deeply suspicious of the intelligence community. Tuesday's disclosures only increased that sense of paranoia. "Trump knows the IC [intelligence community] has spooks who hate his guts," one adviser said. What they're saying: At a NATO press conference in Europe on Wednesday, Trump criticized the coverage of the DIA leak, as did Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser. They said the U.S. hit Iran's three nuclear sites with so many Tomahawk missiles and massive bunker-busting bombs that the country's program was set back significantly, echoing the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. "All this stuff about the intelligence: This is what a leaker is telling you the intelligence says," Rubio said.
