President Donald Trump is reportedly furious after New York Times reporters allegedly obtained recordings of confidential White House Situation Room discussions. The journalists, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, secured the recordings for their forthcoming book, 'Regime Change.' The president is said to have flown into a rage upon learning that the recordings covered sensitive matters ranging from the war in Iran to the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
White House in Panic Over Security Breach
According to Axios, 'We hear President Trump is furious about the blow-by-blow accounts.' Despite the president's fury, numerous MAGA supporters are incensed that the Justice Department has yet to comment on the extraordinary security breach, even though then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel were reportedly present at the meeting.
New York Post opinion writer Michael Goodwin wrote, 'When the Times published details in April of two February meetings about the run-up to the Iran attack, that was the moment when alarm bells should have been ringing and was the time to find the leaker.' He added, 'But once the book is published, it will be too late to put the genie back in the bottle. If the White House tries to take action then, sales will skyrocket as a thumb in the eye to Trump.'
Times Journalists Sound Warnings
Fresh concerns about the Justice Department's silence emerge as White House sources are reportedly in complete panic following an excerpt published in the Times promoting the book, which pledges to take readers 'Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump.' The excerpt, titled 'Inside the White House Freakout Over the Epstein Files,' reveals how the president's closest advisers assembled in the Situation Room to plan their response to the release of investigative documents concerning the late sex offender.
The degree of detail and accuracy in the excerpt instantly triggered alarm among White House staff, who are now desperately attempting to establish whether someone covertly recorded the Situation Room meetings and leaked them to journalists, reports the Express US.
Security Protocols Violated
If such a breach has taken place, it would represent an extraordinary violation of security protocols at one of the world's most protected facilities. The Situation Room, a 5,000-square-foot complex in the West Wing featuring a duty watch station and three secure conference rooms, is fitted with state-of-the-art, classified communications technology. Unauthorised recording within the facility is strictly prohibited.
'We're afraid some of our most sensitive conversations were being recorded,' one administration official confided to Axios. 'And we have no idea which ones.' White House officials did not dispute the book's account of the meetings, including a moment in which Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's regime-change options for Iran: 'In other words, it's b----t.'
Trump Advisers Convened Without Him
According to the forthcoming book, due for release on June 23, Trump's most senior aides gathered in the Situation Room to tackle the Epstein files controversy. Just days prior, the Justice Department had released a memo stating its investigation had found no 'client list' of prominent figures who had exploited Epstein's sex trafficking operation.
The book states, 'The president's desperate attempts to kill the story had failed. His team now had to get everyone onto the same page about how to counter the growing swarm of attention. They needed a gesture of transparency to appease an increasingly angry base, but also a way to convey the message that the president was sympathetic to his supporters' concerns. Which itself was a problem, because he clearly wasn't.'
Those present at the meeting included Vice President JD Vance, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, White House counsel David Warrington, and press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Vance appeared visibly on edge, with several senior aides gaining the impression that he 'bought into the darkest theories about Epstein and a cabal of predators hidden within the country's ruling class.' Wiles, however, dismissed Vance's concerns, informing fellow administration members that the vice president is broadly regarded as a conspiracy theorist.
Trump's Public Remarks Add to Discomfort
Adding to the administration's discomfort were President Trump's public remarks, in which he repeatedly criticised Republicans for their preoccupation with the issue, despite having promised during his 2024 presidential campaign to release documents connected to the investigation. Trump has previously stated that he cut ties with the sex offender and had him removed from his Florida private club after Epstein betrayed him on several occasions by recruiting individuals who had formerly worked for Trump. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to the Epstein affair, has faced no criminal charges from authorities, and has never been identified as a target of any investigation.
