One of the CNN reporters behind an anonymously-sourced report stating the U.S. strikes on Iran did not destroy key components of nuclear sites also wrote the story in which over 50 former intelligence officials claimed the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation in 2020.
CNN reporter Natasha Bertrand, along with Katie Bo Lillis and Zachary Cohen, published the article, which draws on a description of an “early U.S. intelligence assessment” from various anonymous sources, on Wednesday. The story stated that “core components ” of Iran’s nuclear program were not destroyed in Operation Midnight Hammer and the mission “likely only set it back by months.”
However, Trump, who is calling for Bertrand to be fired, read a report from the Atomic Energy Commission of Israel later in the day, stating that “the devastating U.S. strike on Fordow destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility totally inoperable” and that the mission thwarted “Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons for many years to come.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said that new intelligence has confirmed Iran’s nuclear sites were destroyed.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that “the FBI is investigating who was the source of that leak because it’s an illegal leak to CNN,” and highlighted Bertrand’s coverage that framed the Hunter Biden laptop story as Russian disinformation when she was a reporter for Politico.
In October 2020, Bertrand wrote the original story about the letter over 50 former intelligence officials signed, alleging that the Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation.
Her coverage earned her the number one spot on Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow’s list of “Media’s Top Eight Hunter Biden Laptop Deniers”:
This article became the centerpiece of the effort to marginalize and discredit the laptop and the reporting of the New York Post. Though the letter suggested that the laptop narrative merely had the hallmarks of disinformation (read: she had zero actual evidence it was Russian or disinformation), the piece reverberated throughout the media and political landscape.
Because sometimes in the era of weaponized fake news, blatant speculation = “fact.”
The letter, given to Politico by an aide to disgraced ex-CIA chief and Russia-collusion hoaxer John Brennan, became the go-to excuse for censoring the laptop.
Bertrand went forward with the article despite then-Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Strategy and Communications Cliff Sims telling her the laptop was not Russian disinformation, according to a 2022 tweet from Sims.
Leavitt said Wednesday that the false narrative of the Hunter Biden laptop being Russian disinformation “is one of the greatest political hoaxes this country and the American public have ever seen.”
“And that CNN story does not change the facts. There was a total and complete obliteration of Iran’s nuclear facilities,” she added.
Trump called for Bertrand to be fired in a Truth Social post on Wednesday afternoon:
Natasha Bertrand should be FIRED from CNN! I watched her for three days doing Fake News. She should be IMMEDIATELY reprimanded, and then thrown out “like a dog.” She lied on the Laptop from Hell Story, and now she lied on the Nuclear Sites Story, attempting to destroy our Patriot Pilots by making them look bad when, in fact, they did a GREAT job and hit “pay dirt” — TOTAL OBLITERATION! She should not be allowed to work at Fake News CNN. It’s people like her who destroyed the reputation of a once great Network. Her slant was so obviously negative, besides, she doesn’t have what it takes to be an on camera correspondent, not even close. FIRE NATASHA!
CNN has also released a statement,declaring they are fully behind Bertrand, according to The Hill.
“…We do not believe it is reasonable to criticize CNN reporters for accurately reporting the existence of the assessment and accurately characterizing its findings, which are in the public interest,” a CNN spokesperson said.
