Israeli journalist Amit Segal (Wikimedia Commons)
The identity of the journalist who first broke the sensitive story about a missing American airman has now been revealed.
An Israeli journalist has come out and admitted to being the first to drop the bombshell details on the second missing U.S. airman in Iran, the New York Post reported.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported on President Trump’s explosive White House comments slamming “somebody” for leaking sensitive details about the missing fighter pilot.
Trump made it crystal clear that reckless disclosure put hundreds of U.S. troops, including elite SEAL Team 6 operators, in mortal danger during the high-stakes rescue deep inside hostile Iranian territory.
The rescue of both airmen was nothing short of an Easter miracle. One pilot was recovered quickly.
The second, the weapons systems officer, evaded Iranian forces for days, surviving intense firefights before being extracted in a daring operation that showcased the unmatched bravery of America’s warfighters.
“As you probably know, we didn’t talk about the first one for an hour, and then somebody leaked something, which we’ll hopefully find that leaker; we’re looking very hard to find that leaker, and talked about there’s somebody missing,” Trump said to reporters on Monday.
“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.
“So whoever it is, we think we’ll be able to find it out, because 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.”
“There’s some things you can’t do. 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 said.
He continued, “Because a leaker leaked – because we have one – we rescued one, but there’s another one out there that we’re trying to get, actually, the country, Iran, put out.. offering a very big award for anybody that captures the pilot.”
“They put this mission, that man at great risk, and hundreds of people looking for him!” he added.
“The person that did the story will go to jail if he doesn’t say!” Trump said.
It is unclear which media outlet President Trump was referring to, but The New York Times, Washington Post, Axios, and Fox News all reported on the downed fighter jet.
Israel’s Channel 12 was also one of the first to report on the downed jet.
Amit Segal, the high-profile political commentator and anchor for Israel’s Channel 12 news, stepped forward on his Telegram channel Monday and acknowledged his role in publishing the initial scoop about the downed U.S. fighter jet crew.
Segal wrote on his Telegram channel:
“Trump: We didn’t talk about the first one we rescued, and then someone leaked something about the navigator. We’re going to find whoever leaked it. Whoever it is – we’ll manage to track them down through the network that published it, we’ll ask for the leaker. We’ll say it’s national security, and therefore it could end up in prison.
“As you may recall, this was first published here.”
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When confronted by the New York Post, Segal walked back his earlier claim, admitting he was “not sure” he had broken the story first, before adding that he would still protect his “sources.”
Yahoo News reported:
The New York Post’s Caitlin Doornbos explained the timeline around Segal’s reporting last Friday, noting:
The Post was unable to immediately find the clip, but Channel 12 reporter Amit Segal posted the information to X at 11:19 a.m on Friday.
“Western source: One of the American crew members was successfully rescued,” he wrote.
Segal, a close ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, spoke to Doornbos about Trump’s comments. “I’m not sure I was the first,” Segal said about the report the airman had been rescued, which meant the other was still unaccounted for.
“And anyway — I will protect my sources,” Segal told Doornbos.
The post Journalist Who First Broke Missing Airman Scoop Steps Forward After Trump’s Jail Threat — Vows to ‘Protect Sources’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.