Freedom of the press is one of our most cherished constitutional rights and freedoms, but there has always been a rule – unspoken, but a rule nonetheless – that you don’t published leaked information if it puts American national security and military personnel at risk.
But that rule was broken in recent days over reporting involving the crew of the F-15E Strike Eagle that was lost in the skies over Iran. President Trump on Monday gave another of his lengthy, ad-lib press conferences, but in doing so, he vowed to hunt down and jail the leaker who revealed that U.S. forces could not initially reach the second F-15 crewmember.
During a press briefing at the White House, the visibly upset Commander in Chief stated that the media’s disclosure had alerted Tehran, putting the airman’s life in jeopardy. He also emphasized that the lives of hundreds of troops searching for the missing crew member were at risk.
“We’re looking very hard to find that leaker,” he said. “They basically said that we have one, and there’s somebody missing. Well, [Iran] didn’t know there was somebody missing until this leaker gave the information.”
Trump then made it clear his administration – most likely via the Justice Dept. – would pressure the media outlet that published the story to reveal its source(s).
“We think we’ll be able to find it out,” Trump continued. “Because we’re going to go to the media company that released it, and we’re going to say, ‘National security. Give it up or go to jail.’”
? HOLY SMOKES. President Trump just said a leaker AIDED AND ABETTED Iran, leaking to the fake news information about the search for an American airman
PRISON.
"When they did that, all of a sudden, the entire country of Iran knew that there was a pilot that was somewhere on… pic.twitter.com/jSdgBbewnl
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 6, 2026
The leak was initially reported by Israel’s Channel 12 and was quickly picked up by U.S. outlets, including Axios and the Washington Post. This news surfaced while a wounded second crew member was fighting for his life behind enemy lines. The situation triggered a race between our military heroes and the terrorist regime.
Iran’s state television promptly urged civilians in the area to hunt down the American airman, placing a bounty on his head. An anchor encouraged residents to turn over any “enemy pilot” to the police, promising a “precious prize” for those who do so.
“Those who succeed in capturing or killing hostile enemy forces will be specially commended by the Governor’s office,” the governor of Iran’s southern Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province announced, according to the BBC at the time.
“All of a sudden, they know that there’s somebody out there,” Trump told reporters at the briefing. “They see all these planes coming in. It became a much more difficult operation because a leaker leaked that we have one, we’ve rescued one, but there’s another one out there that we’re trying to get.”
“So actually, the country Iran, put out a major notice — you all saw it — offering a very big award for anybody that captures the pilot,” he added. “So in addition to a hostile, very talented, very good, very evil military, we had millions of people trying to get an award, so when you add that to it, but we have to find that leaker, because that’s a sick person.”
So, to be clear, this wasn’t simply a leak; it was aiding and abetting an enemy who is actively at war with our country. That’s not ‘muh freedom of the press!’ – that’s treason, flat-out, and whoever leaked the information should spend a good portion of the rest of their life behind bars.
That will also serve as a reminder to our media of the unspoken rule: Do not, under any circumstances, publish any information that endangers our security or military personnel. If they do, they, too, should face the same consequences.
