'We're Afraid': Top Trump Aides Reportedly Think Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan Have Tapes of 'Sensitive Conversation
Source: MEDIAite
Jun 14th, 2026, 9:49 am
An explosive new report Sunday said top White House officials think New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan have gotten tapes of audio from inside the Situation Room in what would be a truly stunning security breach.
The shocking report from Axioss Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen states that top aides to President Donald Trump believe Haberman and Swan got their hands on Situation Room audio for their forthcoming book, Regime Change, out June 23. Were afraid some of our most sensitive conversations were being recorded, an unnamed administration source told Vandehei and Allen. And we have no idea which ones.
On Wednesday, the Times published a splashy excerpt from the book centered on the White Houses handling of the DOJ files on Jeffrey Epstein. That piece included heavily quoted accounts from numerous Situation Room meetings in which high-level officials made candid statements. In one of the reported conversations, White House counsel David Warrington floated the idea of a presidential pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell a suggestion which drew strenuous objections from several others in the room.
Haberman and Swan obtaining Situation Room audio would undoubtedly draw renewed scrutiny on the administrations ability to keep sensitive conversations private.
Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/were-afraid-top-trump-aides-reportedly-think-maggie-haberman-and-jonathan-swan-have-tapes-of-sensitive-conversations-inside-the-situation-room/
AZLD4Candidate
(7,051 posts)Not expecting anything.
FalloutShelter
(14,707 posts)Obstruction of justice is a felony.
PSPS
(15,405 posts)LetMyPeopleVote
(183,442 posts)The report by Haberman and Swan is so detailed that it may be that they have copies of the recordings of these meetings
Trump aides descend into panic over reporters' 'shocking breach' of Situation Room: report #RawStory
— #TuckFrump (@realtuckfrumper.bsky.social) 2026-06-14T13:36:05.000Z
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-situation-room-haberman-axios/
The outlet reported White House officials believe New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan obtained tapes of Situation Room discussions for their book "Regime Change," due out June 23. Independent recording devices are forbidden in the room, which Axios noted would make such a leak "a shocking breach" of one of the world's most protected settings.
The dread inside the West Wing is as much about the unknown as the known. "We're afraid some of our most sensitive conversations were being recorded," one administration source told Axios. "And we have no idea which ones."
The alarm was triggered by book excerpts the Times posted ahead of publication, which included verbatim accounts of several Situation Room meetings on the Iran war and the Epstein files. Axios reported that the authors conducted more than 1,000 interviews for the book, a chronicle of Trump's second term.
Tellingly, Axios noted, White House officials have not disputed the accuracy of the quoted dialogue including a blunt moment in which Secretary of State Marco Rubio waved off Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's regime-change scenarios for Iran. "In other words, it's bull----," Rubio said, according to the account.
Trump himself is "furious" about the blow-by-blow reconstructions of the top-secret talks, per Axios.
SergeStorms
(20,988 posts)Trump will be demanding more executions for treason again.
Evolve Dammit
(21,840 posts)FakeNoose
(42,827 posts)If Chump's staff aren't checking to make sure, they've got nothing to say now. It's their own fault that top secret recordings got out the door. And we all know that Maggie Haberman isn't that smart, nor devious.
reACTIONary
(7,370 posts). . Regardless of where it was held what was discussed was not secret, let alone top secret.
Bluetus
(3,232 posts)And who says it had to be an electronic recording? I mean, if Rubio said that Netanyahu and the regime change story were bullshit, a) I could easily remember that, and b) it isn't any secret. Everybody outside that room already knew that.
The only "secret" here is that this just shows what two-faced liars they are, but even that was not any revelation.
I suppose the only real story here is that if there realy are recordings, then perhaps some of that could be used in prosecutions in a few years. It is is just comments reconstructed from memory, thatn's not veyr good evidence in a prosecution.
Deminpenn
(17,617 posts)to plan a cover up of whatever's in the Epstein files. There were no national security discussions.
Bev54
(13,552 posts)being Patel and Bondi. Most people think it was one of them that recorded the meeting but then this is the Trump administration and none of them adhere to rules or norms so perhaps nobody turned in their phones prior to the meeting.
tanyev
(49,874 posts)
LetMyPeopleVote
(183,442 posts)SCOOP: Top White House officials believe NYT reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan obtained audio recordings of Situation Room meetings for their new book.
Such a taped leak would be a shocking breach of one of the most secure settings on Earth.
Scoop: Trump aides fear Haberman and Swan obtained Situation Room tapes for "Regime Change" #Axios
— #TuckFrump (@realtuckfrumper.bsky.social) 2026-06-14T13:12:08.000Z
https://www.axios.com/2026/06/14/trump-situation-room-tapes-haberman-swan-regime-change
Why it matters: Such a taped leak would be a shocking breach of one of the most secure settings on Earth. Independent recording devices in the Situation Room are forbidden.
"We're afraid some of our most sensitive conversations were being recorded," an administration source told us. "And we have no idea which ones."
Verbatim accounts of several Situation Room meetings were included in excerpts about the Iran war and the Epstein files that The Times posted ahead of the book's June 23 publication. The authors conducted more than 1,000 interviews for "Regime Change," which covers Trump's second term.
Tellingly, White House officials haven't disputed verbatim dialogue from the top-secret Sit Room talks, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying about Bibi's regime-change scenarios for Iran: "In other words, it's bullshit."
We hear President Trump is furious about the blow-by-blow accounts.
sheshe2
(98,878 posts)Tasmanian Devil
(255 posts)I just wonder if their copies had Russian, Chinese or North Korean notes attached to the recordings.
LuvLoogie
(9,002 posts)There will be no firings. No arrests. Maybe a lower level resignation.
JoseBalow
(9,855 posts)This is a plant.
Response to BumRushDaShow (Original post)
Ponietz This message was self-deleted by its author.
live love laugh
(16,549 posts)dave99
(378 posts)LudwigPastorius
(15,190 posts)BumRushDaShow
(173,085 posts)Laha
(437 posts)Is that now, whether or not any recordings actually exist is almost irrelevant. By their own concern about their potential existence they have essentially confirmed how accurate the reporting is anyway.
Paraphrased:
"How did you know I did that?"
"I didn't, you just confirmed it."
3Hotdogs
(15,688 posts)never see the light of day. The interview will promote all the wonderful things our president has done for the country since January, 05.