Washington Post Columnist Marc Thiessen Demands His Own Newspaper’s ‘Traitor’ Source Be ‘Prosecuted’

Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen called for the “traitor” source who leaked classified information behind his own newspaper’s reporting to be “prosecuted” after the outlet published a bombshell article on warnings from top military leaders about the Iran war.

The conservative columnist took to X on Sunday reacting to the newspaper’s report that senior commanders had warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that prolonged large-scale operations against Iran were becoming unsustainable.

The Post reported that the warnings were contained in the classified August 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book, which assesses the availability of U.S. forces and equipment worldwide. Its reporters cited people familiar with the assessment who spoke anonymously because the document was classified.

“Whoever leaked this is a traitor and ought to be prosecuted,” Thiessen wrote in a post on X while sharing the story.

Thiessen’s demand prompted a heated exchange with a colleague, The Post’s foreign policy columnist Josh Rogin, who also serves as lead global security analyst.

In reply to Thiessen, Rogin highlighted the newspaper’s defense of its reporting against criticism from the chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, who had attacked the publication of the classified information. The Post had responded that its reporting was in the “public interest” and said “the assertion that such publication is a crime is both incorrect and irresponsible.”

Thiessen, however, doubled down and insisted his criticism was directed at the government source rather than the journalists who published the information.

“I said whoever LEAKED it, Josh. You do get that a government official leaking classified information to the press is committing a crime, right?” he jabbed.

Responding to New York Times media reporter Ben Mullin, who highlighted the exchange, Thiessen argued his approach had been “consistent” over the “last 16 years” and pointed to similar calls for the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

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