Overview
- Multiple outlets report that on Sunday senior White House officials told Axios they believe New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan may have obtained audio from Situation Room meetings and have opened a search for the source.
- Excerpts The New York Times published from the book Regime Change included verbatim dialogue about Iran deliberations and the Jeffrey Epstein files, passages that triggered the administration’s concern and drew attention when they appeared earlier this month.
- There is no independent confirmation that audio recordings exist, the authors have declined to comment, and the book remains scheduled for publication on June 23.
- Administration officials stress that independent recording devices are forbidden in the Situation Room so any taped leak would be a major security breach, and several reports say President Trump is furious while aides scramble to determine which conversations might have been captured.
- The disclosures could have political and oversight consequences because the excerpts name high-level reactions—including a reported discussion of a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell—and the authors say they conducted more than 1,000 interviews to reconstruct events.