‘It’s Not News’: House Republican Mike Turner Offers Bizarre Defense of Trump in Response to Bombshell CNN Report

Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) seemed to draw on his experience as an attorney in a Tuesday appearance on The Lead With Jake Tapper, sparring with guest anchor Phil Mattingly as he litigated the meaning and nuance of various words used by President Donald Trump’s administration about the U.S. military airstrikes on Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities — and the recent news reports challenging some of the White House’s claims.

Trump and other administration officials have repeatedly claimed that the airstrikes on Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were successful and “completely and totally obliterated” the Iranian nuclear facilities there, but on Tuesday afternoon, CNN reported that four sources had revealed that “an early U.S. intelligence assessment” found that the strikes were only partially successful, — mostly affecting the aboveground portions, not the far more critical underground structures — leaving the Iranian enriched uranium stockpile mostly “intact” and setting back Iran’s nuclear ambitions “maybe a few months, tops.”

“The White House acknowledged the existence of the assessment but said they disagreed with it,” CNN reported.., citing a statement from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt:

This alleged assessment is flat-out wrong and was classified as ‘top secret’ but was still leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community. The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program. Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.

CNN released a statement to Mediaite defending its reporting:

CNN stands by our thorough reporting on an early intelligence assessment of the recent strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which has since been confirmed by other news organizations. The White House has acknowledged the existence of the assessment, and their statement is included in our story.

Since the CNN report was published, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the Associated Press have added reporting with their own sources saying that the airstrikes did not “obliterate” the Iranian nuclear sites they struck.

According to the AP, Iran may also have been able to relocate some “core components of its nuclear program” in recent days:

Outside experts had suspected Iran had likely already hidden the core components of its nuclear program as it stared down the possibility that American bunker-buster bombs could be used on its nuclear sites.

Bulldozers and trucks visible in satellite imagery taken just days before the strikes have fueled speculation among experts that Iran may have transferred its half-ton stockpile of enriched uranium to an unknown location. And the incomplete destruction of the nuclear sites could still leave the country with the capacity to spin up weapons-grade uranium and develop a bomb.

Mattingly introduced Turner, mentioned his years-long work on the House Intelligence Committee, and asked his thoughts about the CNN reporting.

Turner noted that this was “about a leaked report” and therefore “we don’t have the report, we don’t know what the report itself actually says,” and then began to dissect CNN’s headline, “Exclusive: Early US intel assessment suggests strikes on Iran did not destroy nuclear sites, sources say.”

“What’s troubling about that headline,” said Turner, “is that that headline is not fake news, but it’s — it’s not news, because the administration did not say that the bombs destroyed Iran’s nuclear sites.”

He continued:

I have in front of me the president’s statement, and the president said that they had sent — they had carried out massive precision strikes on three key nuclear facilities. And at that nuclear facilities, the objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity at those facilities.

He then went on to say that Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities at those sites were completely and totally obliterated. He didn’t say the sites were completely obliterated. The sites actually are massive and are huge, and facilities are huge.

So, Iran’s nuclear sites, as CNN’s headline says, were not destroyed or completely obliterated. No one is saying that. So it’s not that, it’s not that it’s fake news. It’s just not news.

The problem is, is a bunker buster, which is 30,000 pounds, does obliterate its target. Now, we all know that these bombs hit their target. They hit the enrichment facilities. Enrichment facilities, nuclear facilities are very fragile. They’re very specific. And it obliterated those facilities that they targeted.

No one is arguing that they didn’t hit the targets they intended. No one argued that they didn’t — that the United States didn’t know the targets that they were hitting. And we didn’t — no one is arguing that they didn’t have the desired effect on those targets.

Mattingly replied that his CNN colleague’s reporting was about “the scale of the effect on the intended targets here, not the entire nuclear facilities.”

“Well, actually, that’s not true,” Turner retorted, arguing that CNN was reporting about the nuclear sites that were struck and the “discussion” really needs to cover that “Iran’s program and its nuclear sites are much vast — are much greater,” citing The Washington Post’s report that Iran’s nuclear faculties were scattered across 30 sites overall, not just the three that the U.S. attacked.

“And as The Washington Post is reporting, using the same information that CNN has been all day trying to discredit President Trump for, which by the way, President Trump did not say the nuclear sites were destroyed –” Turner continued.

“Respectfully, and –” Mattingly said.

“I have his statement in front of me,” Turner interjected.

“I understand that. I think the –” Mattingly tried again.

“You can play it, you can play his statement, and put it against your headline,” said Turner. “And he didn’t say that.”

“I’m not questioning what he said,” said Mattingly. “I’m saying is there is a difference between how the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs described the operation, and how it was described by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump. My point here –”

Turner cut him off again. “And President Trump’s statement is key, not meaning all — the key, not meaning all — nuclear enrichment facilities, not as you’re saying ‘nuclear sites have been completely and totally obliterated.’ But the key word where we need to be today, which is what then President Trump went on to say, which is what CNN should be reporting about, is — Iran remains a threat, even with the attack that occurred today.”

The interview continued in a similar fashion for several more minutes.

Among other comments by the president and White House officials since the airstrikes, Trump posted on his Truth Social account Tuesday morning a claim that “all” of Iran’s nuclear facilities were destroyed:

Both Israel and Iran wanted to stop the War, equally! It was my great honor to Destroy All Nuclear facilities & capability, and then, STOP THE WAR!

Watch the clip above via CNN.