The journalist who published the disappearance of the F-15 pilot will not reveal his source despite Trump threatening him with jail

Trump affirmed that he will put in jail the journalist who published that there was a missing American soldier. “Someone leaked something and I hope we find the source,” he said. “We are going to go to the media and we are going to tell them: either you speak, or you go to jail,” he said.

The president pointed out that the Iranians were able to learn from the American media about the recovery of one of the crew members. That news put them on notice and threatened the rescue operation of his partner.

“We have to find who leaked the information, because is a sick person“He declared to journalists. He assured that, if he did not confess, the person responsible would go to jail.

“We know who we are talking about and you know who we are talking about,” he declared. Last Sunday, the media published the news of the disappearance of the military citing “a source familiar with some of the operational details.”

“The person who wrote the note He will go to jail if he doesn’t tell“, he warned. “We’re not going to take long,” he threatened.

A few hours after the president’s statements, the Israeli journalist Amit Segal He identified himself through the Telegram network as the first to report about the disappearance of the aviator.

To questions from New York Postadmitted that he had leaked the information first on Telegram and then on Twitter, although he admitted that other informants could have beaten him to it. The journalist clarified that in any case would protect your sources.

Segal is one of the most influential communicators in Israel, he collaborates with Channel 12 and has 300,000 followers on the social network. In 2022, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered him a ministerial portfolio in his Government.

Protect journalistic sources

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prevents the government from passing laws that restrict freedom of expression. The right to protect sources of journalistic information is not expressed in the constitutional text.

In practice, laws protect the media from prior censorship. However, judges can force the disclosure of sources if a risk to the public is invoked. national security.

The president argued that the information published “put this mission in great danger“He was referring to the “hundreds of people who came looking for him.” “Everyone knew we were going,” he denounced.

He explained that the publication of the news inspired the Iranian authorities to offer a reward to whoever captured the aviator. He added that, in addition to a hostile army, they had to face “millions of people who wanted to get the reward.”

The rescue operation

The purpose of the appearance was to explain to the media some details of the operation. They intervened in it 155 aircraft and numerous troops.

During the press conference, Trump asked the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caineif he could reveal the number of soldiers who participated in the mission. The general commented that he would “love to keep it a secret,” but the president continued, “I’ll keep it a secret, but there were hundreds.”

He F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down last Friday over the province of Isfahan. The two crew members were able to eject from the plane. The pilot was located and rescued the same day, while the combat systems officer fled to the mountains, following the protocols established in his training.

Trump called the rescue mission “one of the most audacious in American history.” He also spoke of “an Easter miracle” and assured that “God was watching us”, attributing an epic character to the operation.

The director of the CIA, John Ratcliffestressed that finding the missing officer was “comparable to searching for a single grain of sand in the desert.” He called the operation “a daunting challenge and a race against time.”

Ratcliffe acknowledged that he reported the disappearance to the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegsethwho announced it to the president. He gave the immediate order to rescue the soldier despite the opposition of some senior Pentagon officials.