Newsmax host wants arrest of ‘vermin’ CNN owners for ‘sedition’ over Iran intel assessment story
Far-right provocateur Michael Savage said he would have the “vermin” owners of CNN arrested for “sedition,” claiming that the network “undermined America in a time of war” because it reported on a preliminary intelligence assessment that indicated Iran’s nuclear program was only set back months after “Operation Midnight Hammer.”
Savage, the longtime shock jock who now hosts a Sunday night show on MAGA network Newsmax, piggybacked on Donald Trump’s indignation over CNN and other news outlets reporting on the early intel report during his latest broadcast.
“I also want to talk today about the bombing, the most successful bombing of — the most successful bombing mission in history, which was immediately debunked by the vermin at CNN, which to me is sedition,” Savage fumed on Sunday’s telecast of Savage Nation. “I looked up what sedition is.”
In recent days, the president and many of his senior administration officials – most notably Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth – have raged over the Defense Intelligence Agency’s report that contradicts Trump’s claim that the bombing raid “totally and completely obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities and “destroyed” its ability to make a bomb.
While Hegseth scolded the media for its reporting on the assessment in a fiery press conference intended for an audience of one, the president has ramped up his complaints against CNN – which broke the news about the early intel report. Besides demanding that the network fire reporter Natasha Bertrand, Trump has threatened to sue CNN and The New York Times over the organizations’ reporting on the Iran bomb strike.
Trump took it to a new level over the weekend, however, when he told MAGA-boosting Fox host Maria Bartiromo that he would seek to force journalists who reported on the leaked intelligence assessment to give up their sources. “You go up and tell the reporter, ‘national security, who gave it?’” Trump said, adding: “You have to do that. And I suspect we’ll be doing things like that.”
Throughout the top of his Sunday evening broadcast, Savage repeatedly accused CNN of engaging in seditious activities and called for the ownership of the network – which is currently Warner Bros. Discovery, though the conglomerate will be splitting within the year – to be prosecuted.
At the same time, Savage fawned over the airstrikes and continually described them as the “most successful bombing campaign of our life,” even though the United Nations’s nuclear watchdog and a recently intercepted call from Iranian officials have additionally undermined the president’s boasts about ending the nation’s nuclear program.
“If it was up to me and I was president, I’d rip them out by the hair and I’d arrest them for what they did,” Savage exclaimed, adding that he’s “studied what sedition is” and believes the cable network is guilty of it.
“I would arrest… the ownership of CNN for letting this go out on the air,” he continued. “They’ve undermined America in a time of war against radical Islamic terrorists who would kill all of us.”
Later in the program, Savage would also call the intelligence report a “fake bomb damage assessment,” despite the fact that the Trump administration has confirmed its existence and has even said it is launching an FBI investigation to find who leaked the report. Additionally, Trump now plans to limit the sharing of classified information with Congress following reports on the intelligence assessment. “We are declaring war on leakers,” a White House official told Axios.
“Sedition is what CNN does on a daily level,” Savage declared. “Now, I believe in freedom of speech. I can be very, very provocative. Let’s put it to you that way, but what is sedition? It’s a word that has meaning.”After reading the definition of sedition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Savage claimed that anyone who says they are “resisting” Trump is “committing sedition” before once again alleging the network is guilty of that act.
“Sedition, my friends, is a very serious offense. It’s distinct from treason, which involves actually betraying the government through acts of espionage,” he concluded. “CNN is engaging in sedition by saying the bombing mission didn’t work.”
The Independent has reached out to Newsmax for comment on Savage’s segment and whether the channel endorses or supports his views.
