Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., told Newsmax on Thursday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's fiery reaction to the media's rush to publish a leaked preliminary damage report on the efficacy of the U.S. strikes on Iran is understandable because "loose lips sink ships."
"We have classified briefings all the time as members of the Armed Services Committee and when we receive that information, we fully understand, we give our word that we will not share that outside of a classified setting and with people who are screened to be able to receive that information," Fischer said on "Wake Up America." "It can put our military members, it can put our operatives in other countries, in danger if you have loose lips.
"There's a sign in the classified briefing area from World War II — it says loose lips sink ships. So, I can I identify with them on how upset they are by that. We need to find who did it and take action, appropriate action, against them."
During a Thursday press conference with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, Hegseth scolded media members for "breathlessly" reporting an early assessment that suggested the strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites were not as devastating as the Trump administration had indicated.
The report from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) had not been coordinated with other agencies in the intelligence community, Hegseth said, and pointed out that the DIA itself said there's low confidence in the preliminary report.
Addressing the media, Hegseth said, "It's in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump."
"Because you want him not be successful so bad, you have to cheer against the efficacy of these strikes," he said. "You have to hope maybe they weren't effective. Maybe the way the Trump administration has represented them isn't true. So, let's take half-truths, spun information, leaked information, and then spin it.
"Spin it in every way we can to try to cause doubt and manipulate the mind, the public mind, over whether or not our brave pilots were successful."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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