MS NOW Reporter Hits Back At Trump WH Attack: New Air Force One Flaws are ‘Not Really in Dispute’

MS NOW’s Carol Leonnig said she was baffled at the White House’s fiery reaction to her reporting on the security flaws in the new Air Force One.

Speaking Friday on CNN’s The Moment with Katy Tur, Leonnig seemed taken aback when asked about the White House’s stern clap back to her report that the new Air Force One — a $400 million retrofitted jet gifted from the government of Qatar — had security concerns.

Leonnig insisted the network stands by its reporting on the jet:

KATY TUR: Carol, the White House had a pretty strong reaction to your reporting.

CAROL LEONNIG: Yeah, I was surprised by that. You know, we stand by our reporting. We have no concerns about its accuracy. It’s very similar in not every way, but very similar to Tyler’s great reporting on this as well.

And we know from talking to national security officials, both prior and current, that this plane has security issues. You can’t just add on surface to air missile defense, electromagnetic shielding for nuclear blast, secure advanced communications that will be absolutely fail safe.

You can’t add that to a jet unless you’re building it from scratch, and you certainly can’t upgrade it in the 15 months since Donald Trump received this gift.

And this is something former air force generals were warning about for months. We stand by the reporting, and I’m not sure why the White House is so upset about it, because it’s it’s not really in dispute that he was urged to take this older and safer plane.

On Thursday, Leonnig, citing US Secret Service sources, said Trump was “embarrassed” by having to switch planes on his way home from the NATO Summit in Turkey.

Trump told reporters in Ankara he was not using new aircraft to leave the summit and claimed it was being taken to show to soldiers at a military base.

The claim sparked widespread suspicion, including from former CIA Director Leon Panetta, who called Trump’s explanation “a cover story.”

Earlier Thursday, White House spokesman Steven Cheung called Leonnig a liar for reporting security concerns had sparked the switch.

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