One of the recurring themes across both of President Trump’s terms has been the prevalence of individuals and entities leaking sensitive information.
But the Trump administration is pushing back against what it calls a dangerous trend, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth offered some insight into what multiple agencies are doing in a concerted effort to root out the leakers and bring them to justice.
As The Hill reported:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Monday that the Pentagon and the Justice Department (DOJ) have created a joint task force to identify and prosecute leakers as part of the department’s effort to clamp down on disclosure of sensitive information.
ADVERTISEMENTHegseth said the Defense Department’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) will be able to request and receive all information, support and records across the Pentagon regarding news media leak investigations.
The Defense secretary said all of the department’s components and personnel will “prioritize” these requests and that any taskings issued by the OGC under the authority have to receive a “full and complete” response within two days of the requests being submitted.
“Leaked information risks lives. These new tools and processes will greatly assist us in protecting our joint force. The security of our nation cannot be a bargaining chip for those who seek momentary headlines,” Hegseth said in a roughly two-and-a-half-minute video which was posted on social platform X. “Access to confidential and secret information is a sacred trust, and those who betray that trust will be met with the full force of the law.”
Hegseth’s announcement sparked some social media discussion:
I’m so proud of you and your work! Brother keep it going!!! AMERICA FIRST FOREVER!
— Patrick Goergen (@PtrkGhstFrnd65) July 13, 2026
Otherwise known as “Benedict Arnolds”
— Jane Doe (@Proverbs8vs1) July 13, 2026
Leaking Sensitive Information was never ok, but at sometime in the past it was allowed and not enforced. It is so great the old American Standards are coming back!
— BleuWolf (@BleuWolf248) July 13, 2026
Here are more details via The Guardian:
On Wednesday, the Times reported that Trump left Turkey onboard the old Air Force One, instead of his new Qatari-gifted aircraft, as a security precaution at the urging of the Secret Service. The following day, the newspaper reported that the new Air Force One lacked some of the advanced security features of the older aircraft. Both stories cited anonymous sources.
On Saturday, the Times said that their reporters had been issued subpoenas, seeking to compel them to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan this week.
According to the newspaper, before publishing its first story, a senior FBI official contacted a reporter and senior editor asking for the article to be withheld, calling it an issue of national security, but declined to explain the security issue. The official also reportedly requested that the Times disclose its sources for the article, which the Times refused to do.
David McCraw, the Times’s top newsroom lawyer, condemned the subpoenas in a statement, saying that the “appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects”.
A spokesperson for the justice department told the New York Times on Saturday that the “reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are”.
Here’s the full video:
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