No apology: NYT and CNN defend reporting on U.S. strikes on Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to sue CNN and The New York Times over their reports, which cited initial assessments that U.S. bombings only set Iran’s nuclear program back by a few months and did not cause complete destruction, contrary to Trump’s claim that Iran’s nuclear capabilities were “completely eliminated.”

On June 25, Trump’s personal attorney sent letters to the news outlets, demanding they retract their statements and apologize. Both CNN and The New York Times responded by rejecting these demands. According to The New York Times, Trump’s lawyer claimed the reports were “defamatory, false, and unpatriotic.”

Trump criticized CNN, The New York Times, and other news organizations that reported on the information, alleging they “want to humiliate me.”

David McCraw, Deputy General Counsel at The New York Times Company, responded to Trump’s lawyer on June 26, writing, “There is no need to retract. There will be no apology. We told the truth to the best of our ability. We will continue to do so.”

McCraw further stated, “The New York Times’ story that the president may have overstated the case when saying the Iranian sites were ‘destroyed,’ that the impact of the bombing is unclear, and that the attack did not eliminate Iran’s threat, is not a lie and does not defame the president.”

The New York Times published a copy of McCraw’s letter at this [link].

A CNN representative confirmed that the network received a similar letter from Trump’s lawyer, responded to it, and “rejected the claims made in the letter.” The spokesperson declined to comment further.