By Katherine Tinsley
1:29pm PDT, Jun 27, 2025
_
Donald Trump's war against legacy media continues: The president threatened to sue
The New York Times and CNN for their reporting on his targeted airstrikes in Iran.
Keep reading for the details…
MORE:
Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more top news
_
A Defense Intelligence Agency report stated that the strikes delayed Iran's quest to develop nuclear weapons by "only a few months." Many legacy media outlets covered the report, prompting Donald Trump to lash out at them as "fake news." On Thursday, June 26, The New York Times told the president that, despite his threat to take legal action against them, they stand by their reporting and believe "no retraction is needed."
_
The New York Times' attorney, David McGraw, assured Donald Trump that the outlet stands by its reporting: "No apology will be forthcoming," he wrote in a letter. "We told the truth to the best of our ability. We will continue to do so."
_
David McGraw informed the president's legal team that the paper used U.S. intelligence data for their assessment: "I must admit I was surprised by your letter's unwavering certainty that the U.S. air strike 'unequivocally eliminated Iran's nuclear capabilities.' That was at odds not just with the preliminary assessments of the U.S. intelligence services that we quoted but — of more direct relevance to this letter — at odds with what your client said following the publication of the Article," McGraw wrote to Trump and his lawyers.
_
David McGraw later quoted Donald Trump saying he didn't know how effective the strikers were. The president said the damage to the nuclear sites could be "very severe."
_
Donald Trump called The New York Times and CNN "scum" after they reported on the DIA's findings. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said CNN's Natasha Bertrand should be "ashamed" of her reporting.
