Home > Media & Platforms > Journalism Washington Post Columnist Slams ‘Traitor’ Pentagon Source Leaking Hegseth Meetings to Paper Marc Thiessen says the government official behind a classified Iran War report should be prosecuted A.J. Katz August 31, 2026 @ 10:21 AM Share on Social Media Share on Facebook Share on X (formerly Twitter) Share on LinkedIn Share on Email WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 26: A Washington Post logo is displayed on top of the newspaper's editorial headquarters on May 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Credit: Kevin Carter/Getty Images) Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen called the government source behind his own newspaper’s reporting on military opposition to prolonging the Iran war a “traitor” who should face prosecution. “Whoever leaked this is a traitor and ought to be prosecuted,” the conservative columnist wrote Sunday on X, sharing the Post’s exclusive report that senior military commanders had warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth against sustaining large-scale operations against Iran. Whoever leaked this is a traitor and ought to be prosecuted https://t.co/yrJWrguNiO — Marc Thiessen (@marcthiessen) August 31, 2026 Read Next Trump Calls Washington Post Report of Hegseth Rift Completely False and ‘Treasonous’ The comments created an unusual tension at the Post, which had already defended its reporting after Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell accused the newspaper of committing a crime by publishing classified information. “We’re confident in our reporting, our sourcing, and the constitutional protections that guarantee the rights of news organizations to publish information in the public interest that holds officials accountable,” the Post said in a statement. “The assertion that such publication is a crime is both incorrect and irresponsible.” Post foreign-policy columnist Josh Rogin challenged Thiessen by pointing to the newspaper’s defense of its reporting. “I said whoever LEAKED it, Josh,” Thiessen responded . “You do get that a government official leaking classified information to the press is committing a crime, right?” Read Next Washington Post Ordered to Reinstate Karen Attiah After Firing Over Charlie Kirk Posts Thiessen’s clarification drew a distinction between prosecuting the journalists who published the classified information and the government official who provided it. But his call would still target a confidential source behind reporting published by his own newspaper. https://t.co/SLk5TKC1EY pic.twitter.com/Xe8VZHX9Vd — Washington Post Communications (@WashPostComms) June 23, 2026 The underlying Post report said four senior military commanders formally objected to continuing to divert personnel and equipment to the Middle East into 2027. The warnings appeared in a classified Aug. 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book, according to people familiar with the assessment. The commanders warned that extended deployments were degrading their ability to carry out other missions, including homeland defense, according to the Post. Navy chief Adm. Daryl Caudle reportedly argued that the service could not sustain its current level of support for the Iran conflict without a clear end date. Parnell disputed portions of the report but acknowledged that Hegseth regularly receives such objections from military leaders, describing “non-concurs” as a standard part of the process. Read Next Judge Rips Washington Post’s ‘Sloppy and Inadequate’ Reporting Despite Ruling in Its Favor A.J. Katz A.J. Katz is Media Editor at TheWrap covering the business of television, print, digital and social media. He previously spent eight years at Adweek, leading coverage of the television news industry. He later served as editor-in-chief of LateNighter before joining MS NOW in audience strategy and program research. Please wait while we verify your access… Leave a Reply Logged in as . Manage your account . Sign out? Comment * Sorry, we're having trouble loading commenting features. Please try again in a moment. To post a comment, please update your profile to include your name. Sign in to post a comment. Comments
Curated by Taleb Kabbara · Source: www.thewrap.com