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Trump threatens ‘dirty dogs’ who keep leaking: ‘You will pay a big price!’

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Cite

Sommerlad, J. (2026, September 18). Trump threatens ‘dirty dogs’ who keep leaking: ‘You will pay a big price!’. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-leakers-threat-truth-social-b3052336.html

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The Independent · collected 2026-09-18 · by Joe Sommerlad

Quick Summary

President Trump threatened leakers within his administration on Truth Social, warning them to "pay a big price" if they continue leaking information. This came after recent reports in The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal revealed advisors cautioned against military action in Iran. Marc Thiessen’s piece in the Post defended Trump's decision, arguing it would be historically significant despite domestic unpopularity and high costs; Reuters/Ipsos polling showed only 31 percent of Americans supported the conflict.
Written by AI on 2026-09-20, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

President Donald Trump angrily attacked leakers within his administration after a series of reports revealed internal warnings about the Iran conflict. The war, which Trump initially predicted would last only six weeks, had extended into its seventh month by early 2024. Trump's criticism followed an editorial in The Washington Post and a report from The Wall Street Journal, both suggesting that then-director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard advised against launching Operation Epic Fury on February 28, 2024.

In response to these leaks, Trump warned leakers via his Truth Social platform: “Keep on leaking you dirty dogs! When we find you, you will pay a big price!!!” Conservative columnist Marc Thiessen criticized the leaks as "self-serving," arguing that they highlighted Trump's "courageous decision" in addressing Iran’s nuclear threat despite opposition from what he termed "naysayers and doves."

Written for “Trump Threatens Leakers” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Threatens Leakers
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
13%
2 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3609 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Joe Sommerlad
68 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Joe Sommerlad
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 68 articles by Joe Sommerlad →

Topics

Iran Operation Epic Fury Tehran The Washington Post Wall Street Journal

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 5× Iran GPE · 3× Adolf Hitler PERSON · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Marc Thiessen’s PERSON · 1× Tehran GPE · 1× The Washington Post ORG · 1× Tulsi Gabbard PERSON · 1× Vladimir Lenin PERSON · 1× Wall Street Journal ORG · 1×

Narrative

Marc Thiessen’s piece condemned the “self-serving leaks” and said they had ultimately only served to demonstrate “what a courageous decision Trump made” when choosing to stop the nuclear threat posed by Tehran while “surrounded by naysayers” and “doves.” The journalist argued the “most tragic mistake that world leaders made over the past century was the failure to take the words of the monsters of history seriously” – naming Vladimir Lenin, Adolf Hitler and Osama Bin Laden.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-20
🔮 As the conflict Trump claimed would be over in six weeks drags into its seventh month, insiders have repeatedly claimed the president was warned against taking action by his own advisors. “Keep on leaking you dirty dogs!

Claims (15 extracted, 2 hedged)

President Donald Trump has lashed out at leakers in his own administration after a series of behind-the-scenes reports on the Iran war. asserted
Trump → lash → war
As the conflict Trump claimed would be over in six weeks drags into its seventh month, insiders have repeatedly claimed the president was warned against taking action by his own advisors. “Keep on leaking you dirty dogs! asserted
president → claim → advisors
When we find you, you will pay a big price!!!” declared on his Truth Social Thursday night. asserted
you → find → Social
The president was responding to an editorial in The Washington Post addressing the war in Iran and a Wall Street Journal report last month revealing that his then-director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, advised him against launching Operation Epic Fury on February 28. asserted
director → respond → February
Marc Thiessen’s piece condemned the “self-serving leaks” and said they had ultimately only served to demonstrate “what a courageous decision Trump made” when choosing to stop the nuclear threat posed by Tehran while “surrounded by naysayers” and “doves.” The journalist argued the “most tragic mistake that world leaders made over the past century was the failure to take the words of the monsters of history seriously” – naming Vladimir Lenin, Adolf Hitler and Osama Bin Laden. asserted
leaders → condemn → Lenin
He claimed Trump had bucked the trend and made “the bravest foreign policy decision any president has done in my lifetime.” asserted
president → claim → lifetime
“Even if it hurts him politically in November, he will be rewarded by history,” Thiessen concluded. asserted
Thiessen → hurt → history
The president hailed his article as “very interesting” and “a must read,” which counts as rare praise for a newspaper he has regularly derided and which he attempted to sue for defamation in 2023, only for the $3.8 billion lawsuit to be thrown out in July. asserted
lawsuit → hail → July
The war has proved domestically unpopular for Trump just as the country heads to the midterms, with Reuters / Ipsos polling last month suggesting just 31 percent of Americans support the conflict. asserted
percent → prove → conflict
Previous reports have suggested Trump was persuaded to unleash war on Iran by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite skepticism from his inner circle. uncertain
Trump → suggest → circle
Vice President JD Vance was the most vocal in his opposition, according to a New York Times report in April, with CIA Director Jim Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Gen. Dan Caine said to have claimed Netanyahu “oversold” the president. uncertain
Netanyahu → accord → president
Since then, the cost of the war has spiralled to an estimated $33 billion, sent gas prices soaring and all but closed the key shipping route the Strait of Hormuz. Trump previously lashed out at leakers in August after it was reported he had had an argument with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Camp David over a reported shortfall on U.S. missile stockpiles as a result of the war. asserted
he → spiral → war
“The ‘leakers’ of these treasonous statements are being hunted down,” the president fumed. asserted
president → hunt → statements
“Long term jail sentences will be sought!” asserted
sentences → seek → ?
Similarly, he has previously warned his enemies they will “pay a big price,” doing so in July when ranting about the “vandals” and “sleazebags” he insisted had sabotaged his restoration of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. asserted
he → warn → Pool
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