SWARK Today

Washington, D.C

– Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) wrote a letter to President Biden today asking for consistent updates on the investigation into the reported leak of top secret documents. Senator Cotton noted that repeated leaks from the Biden-Harris administration raise questions about whether the administration will adequately address this vulnerability.

In part, Senator Cotton wrote:

“Officials in your administration have repeatedly leaked information over the past year that was clearly intended to pressure Israel to curb its righteous campaign against Iran and its terrorist proxies. These leaks ranged from reports of personal conversations between American and Israeli officials to assessments of Iranian intentions and are clearly aimed at handcuffing Israel.”

The full text of the letter can be found here Here and below.

October 22, 2024
President Joseph R. Biden

TThe White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

I am writing to express my deep concern over the reported leak of top secret American documents regarding Israel’s planned military response against Iran. This leak is an outrageous betrayal of an ally and a breach of trust that will undermine our relationship with our partners for years to come.

Officials in your administration have repeatedly leaked information over the past year that was clearly intended to pressure Israel to curb its righteous campaign against Iran and its terrorist proxies. These leaks ranged from reports of personal conversations between American and Israeli officials to assessments of Iranian intentions and were clearly aimed at handcuffing Israel.

To give some examples:

• CNN recently quoted unnamed US officials who claimed that Israel had drawn up a counterattack plan against Iran ahead of the US elections and revealed details of that plan.
• They publicly discussed the timing of Israel’s retaliation against Iran for its recent attack, saying on October 3 that it would not “happen today.”
• The Washington Post quoted an unnamed US official on Israel’s plans for a ground invasion of Lebanon before the IDF launched the operation.

In any case, these leaks serve to inform the enemy of Israel – and America – about likely Israeli attack plans and limit Israel’s freedom of action.

Given this track record, I am deeply concerned about whether your administration will adequately address this serious security breach. Therefore, I ask that you provide the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee with regular bi-weekly updates on the investigation.

Sincerely,

Tom Cotton

United States Senator