Trump told wife to watch top-secret military op she had no security clearance for: memoir
Melania Trump claims she watched an ISIS raid involving a canine from the Situation Room.
The former first lady wrote in her self-titled memoir that her husband summoned her to the White House's top-secret sanctum in autumn 2019 to witness video coverage of a raid in Syria that resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, reported The Daily Beast.
“I was caught off guard when I received a call informing me that the president wanted to see me in the Oval Office," Melania Trump wrote. “I was directed to join him in the Situation Room — a first and unique experience for me. ‘Watch this incredible action at work,’ Donald whispered to me.”
The Beast reported that the first lady lacked the security clearance to be watching the classified action.
Conan, a Belgian Malinois military service dog, was later honored in the Rose Garden by Donald Trump, who called the animal –which helped special forces track the terrorist leader in a tunnel – "incredible" and "brilliant" in a ceremony attended by the former first lady and former Vice President Mike Pence.
“After his recovery, we were honored to welcome him to the White House to present him with a medal for his exceptional courage,” she wrote.
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Former acting defense secretary Christopher Miller also wrote about her appearance in the Situation Room in his own memoir, saying he wondered "how it would play in the press if word got out that the first lady had popped in to watch a major military operation," and then-secretary of defense Mark Esper and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Mark Milley were also present.
“The mission to eliminate the leader of ISIS was a significant objective, and the successful completion of this operation would be a major accomplishment,” Melania Trump wrote. “This pivotal moment was one that Donald wanted to share with me.”