BREAKING: Fake News Outlet Exposed For Leaking Downed Airman’s Location

President Donald Trump tore into a media outlet Monday after a leak during a high-stakes rescue mission in Iran, saying the disclosure tipped off Tehran that a second U.S. airman was alive and still on the ground.

Trump spoke at a White House press conference April 6, just hours after announcing the recovery of two U.S. airmen whose F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran on Friday. The pilot was rescued within hours, officials said, but the weapon systems officer was separated by several miles after ejecting and spent more than a day alone in hostile territory before being recovered Saturday night.

Trump said the administration intentionally kept details quiet to protect the operation, but that a leaker blew the cover.

“As you probably know, we didn’t talk about the first one for an hour. Then somebody leaked something, which we will hopefully find that leaker,” Trump stated.

He said the leak exposed what U.S. officials were trying to conceal: that there was still another American out there.

“They basically said that we have one and there’s somebody missing. Well, they didn’t know there was somebody missing until this leaker gave the information.”

Trump said the White House is now hunting for whoever spilled the information and indicated the administration plans to pressure the outlet that published it.

“We’re looking very hard to find that leaker,” Trump continued. “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.’ When they did that, all of a sudden, the entire country of Iran knew that there was a pilot that was somewhere on their land that was fighting for his life.”

Trump argued the leak didn’t just risk the downed airman. He said it also made the rescue far more dangerous for the Americans going in to pull him out.

“It also made it much more difficult for the pilots and for the people going in to search for him,” Trump explained. “All of a sudden, they know that there’s somebody out there. 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.”

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Trump said Iran responded by dangling money, turning the hunt into a nationwide manhunt.

Trump also noted Iran issued what he described as a major notice offering “a very big award for anybody that captures the pilot.”

“So in addition to a hostile, very talented, very good, very evil military, we had millions of people trying to get an award,” Trump remarked.

Officials described the mission as one of the most complex rescues in U.S. special operations history, involving roughly 200 personnel and a heavy mix of airpower, surveillance and special operators. The missing officer limited his use of emergency signals to avoid detection, forcing U.S. intelligence to chase intermittent pings and determine whether they were real or an Iranian trap. After he transmitted the message, “God is good,” officials later concluded it matched his background.

The operation also included deception efforts, strikes near the extraction zone and a nighttime helicopter run launched from an improvised forward arming and refueling point inside Iran. During the getaway, two MC-130J aircraft became stuck in sandy terrain, according to the account, forcing U.S. forces to transfer personnel to replacement aircraft and destroy disabled planes and equipment left behind before departing.

All U.S. personnel were evacuated without fatalities. Trump celebrated the recovery as an “Easter miracle.”

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