White House and DOJ Considering Arresting Journalists Over Leaks and Stephen Miller Is All Aboard the Plan: Report
The White House and Department of Justice have reportedly been discussing potentially throwing journalists in jail to reveal the identities of leakers and fresh White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is behind the plan.
In an Atlantic report about the exit of Susie Wiles from her chief of staff role at the White House, it was revealed that a plan to jail journalists is in consideration in the administration. Wiles reportedly pushed back on such a plan while Miller gave it his endorsement.
According to the report, which cites multiple people familiar with the situation, President Donald Trump has been pressing the DOJ to pursue criminal cases against people who leak information to the media on “national security grounds.” Various “tactics” have been discussed, including arresting journalists to push them into revealing their sources.
Two of the sources cited in the report said that Wiles “pushed back” on this tactic while Miller “was in favor and insisted that it wouldn’t take long for journalists to give up their sources.”
A DOJ spokesperson denied the story in a comment to The Atlantic, but did not provide further context, simply calling it “absolutely false.”
A White House spokesperson meanwhile told Mediaite in a statement that “unauthorized leaks of sensitive national security information will NEVER be tolerated. They endanger American lives and threaten our national security. Those responsible must be held accountable.”
Trump revealed on Friday that Miller would be replacing Wiles, someone he was reportedly “furious” with after Republicans lost majorities in the House and Senate during the midterms.
“I am pleased to announce that Mr. Stephen Miller, the current Deputy Chief of Staff of the Trump Administration, and one of my most trusted advisors, will become the Chief of Staff starting Monday, November 9, 2026,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “Susie Wiles, who has done an outstanding job, will be moving over to the Trump Political Operation. I want to thank her for her service as Chief of Staff — She has done a great job!”
The White House did not immediately return Mediaite’s request for comment.
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