Pete Hegseth attacks old Fox News colleague’s reporting on Iran strikes intelligence evaluation

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth criticized his former Fox News colleague Jennifer Griffin as about the worst the one who misrepresents the the bulk intentionally what the president says in a Pentagon news conference Thursday Griffin Fox s chief national safety correspondent mentioned that I take issue with that and defended her reporting on the U S bombing of Iran s nuclear facilities Hegseth a Fox News anchor before President Donald Trump appointed him defense secretary repeatedly criticized the media and questioned its patriotism for its reporting on an initial assessment of the weekend s bombing that questioned how much damage was done to Iran s nuclear scheme The attack on Griffin was notable because less than a year ago she and Hegseth shared the same employer a news structure that has seen its reputation in Trump s eyes rise and fall haphazardly over the past decade Griffin had inquired Hegseth about whether there was any certainty that highly enriched uranium was stored at the mountain bunker bombed by the U S given satellite photos that established more than a dozen trucks were seen there two days in advance Of syllabus we re watching every single aspect Hegseth revealed But Jennifer you ve been about the worst the one who misrepresents the preponderance intentionally what the president says Fox management had no immediate comment on what Hegseth mentioned Fox analyst Brit Hume called it an attack she did not deserve Her professionalism her knowledge and her experience are unmatched Hume commented Hume did seem to criticize however other news organizations for reporting on the initial assessment by the U S Defense Intelligence Agency It is typical of the media in our age that any negative analysis that you can put your hands on in the aftermath of the United States military action is going to be highlighted played up and so he disclosed saying it was disappointing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted Thursday that the administration is inspecting who is responsible for leaking a copy of the intelligence agency s record The news reporting clearly angered Trump since the statement s initial conclusions contradicted the president s statements that the bombing resulted in total obliteration of Iran s nuclear plan For a second day the administration focused its anger on CNN reporter Natasha Bertrand who helped break the story CNN which declared Wednesday that it stood behind Bertrand s journalism continued to defend her Thursday and declared its reporting on the Trump administration s own analysis was in no way meant to diminish the military s efforts David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP Follow him at http x com dbauder and https bsky app profile dbauder bsky social Source