The Daily BS • Bo Snerdley Cuts Through It!
The Daily BS • Bo Snerdley Cuts Through It!

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WaPo columnist calls his own newspaper’s Pentagon source a ‘traitor’ who should be prosecuted

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BS BULLETIN:

  • Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen says whoever leaked classified Pentagon information used in his own newspaper’s Iran-war reporting is a “traitor” who “ought to be prosecuted.”
  • Fellow Post columnist Josh Rogin pushed back, prompting Thiessen to emphasize that he wants the government leaker prosecuted — not the journalists who published the information.
  • The Pentagon has also blasted the disclosure, while the Post says publication of the information was in the public interest and rejects the suggestion that its journalism was criminal.

Well, this could make the next Washington Post office Christmas party a little awkward.

Post columnist Marc Thiessen is calling for the prosecution of the person who leaked classified Pentagon information to — wait for it — The Washington Post.

“Whoever leaked this is a traitor and ought to be prosecuted,” Thiessen wrote Sunday on X, sharing his own newspaper’s report.

The Post story revealed that several senior military leaders had warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that prolonged large-scale military operations against Iran could become unsustainable and weaken America’s ability to respond to threats elsewhere.

The information, according to the Post, came from people familiar with the classified Aug. 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book.

That document is no office memo. The Post itself describes it as an assessment detailing the worldwide availability of U.S. warships, aircraft, personnel and weapons systems and helping inform the orders issued by the Pentagon.

According to the newspaper, leaders including the heads of European, Pacific and Southern commands and the Navy’s top admiral registered what is known as a “non-concur” over extending some forces — meaning they disagreed with the order but would carry it out.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell came out swinging after publication.

“Publishing highly classified assessments from the Secretary’s orders book is a crime,” Parnell wrote on X, while also accusing the Post of publishing inaccurate information.

The newspaper pushed back, saying its reporting served the public interest and calling the assertion that publication itself constituted a crime “incorrect and irresponsible.”

Then Thiessen jumped into the fight — from inside the Post.

His declaration that the leaker was a “traitor” immediately drew a response from fellow Post columnist Josh Rogin, who pointed toward the newspaper’s defense of its reporting. Thiessen wasn’t backing down.

“I said whoever LEAKED it, Josh,” Thiessen replied on X. “You do get that a government official leaking classified information to the press is committing a crime, right?”

That distinction matters. Thiessen is not calling for Post reporters Alex Horton and Tara Copp to be prosecuted for publishing the story. He is demanding consequences for the government official or officials who allegedly handed classified material to them.

And Thiessen says he’s being consistent.

When New York Times media reporter Ben Mullin highlighted the remarkable spectacle of a Post columnist calling for prosecution of his own newspaper’s source, Thiessen responded that he has held the same position for 16 years, pointing to his previous calls for prosecutions involving Edward Snowden and Julian Assange.

The Iran leak is particularly sensitive because the United States remains engaged in a conflict with Tehran and the information concerns American military resources, deployments and commanders’ assessments.

So now The Washington Post finds itself in the wonderfully uncomfortable position of defending the public-interest value of its bombshell while one of its own prominent columnists is essentially saying: Great scoop.

Now find the guy who gave it to you and prosecute him.

MY QUICK TAKE

There are two separate issues here, and Thiessen is right to separate them.

Journalists publishing information and a government official entrusted with classified military information handing it over are not the same thing.

You can argue until closing time about whether the Post should have published these details during an ongoing war. But if somebody inside the government illegally leaked classified information concerning America’s military posture, asking who did it — and why — seems pretty darn reasonable.

Still, you have to appreciate the newsroom comedy. Most newspaper columnists occasionally disagree with their colleagues. Thiessen wants somebody’s source fitted for an orange jumpsuit.

DBS WIRE SOURCES

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