President Donald Trump has threatened legal action against CNN and The New York Times over their reporting on early U.S. intelligence assessments suggesting that recent bombing raids on Iran only delayed its nuclear program by a few months — a conclusion that conflicts with Trump’s claim that the sites were “totally obliterated.”
Trump’s personal attorney sent formal letters on June 25 demanding retractions and public apologies, calling the stories “false,” “defamatory,” and even “unpatriotic.” But both CNN and The New York Times swiftly rejected those demands.
In a strongly worded response dated June 26, David McCraw, senior vice president and deputy general counsel for The New York Times, wrote:
“No retraction is needed. No apology will be forthcoming. We told the truth to the best of our ability. We will continue to do so.”
McCraw added that Trump’s lawyer’s claim — that the strikes “unequivocally eliminated Iran’s nuclear capabilities” — was not only contradicted by U.S. intelligence, but by Trump himself. He cited Trump’s own comments at the NATO summit, where the president acknowledged:
“The intelligence was very inconclusive. The intelligence says, ‘We don’t know, it could have been very severe.’”
McCraw emphasized that the Times’ reporting — which questioned whether Trump exaggerated the damage done to Iran’s nuclear sites — was both accurate and not defamatory. He said the article accurately reported on the uncertainty of the operation’s success, as well as the fact that the nuclear threat had not been eliminated.
CNN also received a similar legal letter and confirmed it had responded, firmly rejecting the claims. A network spokesperson declined to elaborate but defended their reporting.
On Tuesday, CNN was the first to report, citing Pentagon intelligence, that the U.S. airstrikes had not destroyed the core infrastructure of Iran’s nuclear program and had likely only set it back by a few months. The New York Times, the Associated Press, ABC News, and others quickly confirmed the report.
In response, Trump launched a personal attack on CNN national security reporter Natasha Bertrand, demanding she be fired and crudely stating on Truth Social that she should be “thrown out like a dog.” CNN stood by Bertrand and her reporting, stating:
“We stand 100% behind Natasha Bertrand’s journalism and the reporting of the early intelligence assessment. Our coverage made clear this was an initial finding, subject to change, and we also reported President Trump’s own skepticism of it. It is unreasonable to criticize CNN reporters for accurately reporting publicly available intelligence assessments.”
Trump also used his social media platform to accuse journalists at both outlets of trying to “make our Country look bad,” adding,
“You would think they would be proud of the great success we had.”
Despite the president’s outrage, both CNN and The New York Times show no signs of backing down, with both standing by their reporting as fact-based, responsible journalism in the public interest.
