NPR thought it had the scoop of the year when it reported this week that eight pieces of paper left on a hotel printer amounted to a security breach of the White House after the summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to The Hill, the outlet, which recently lost government funding thanks to an executive order signed by Trump, reported that detailed notes about the summit, including phone numbers of three U.S. government workers, were left behind.
The White House refuted the report and mocked the outlet for it. Relentlessly.
The president's team responded to the report by describing it as "hilarious," and pointed out that it's prime evidence as to why the outlet had lost public support, and why it's no longer taxpayer-funded.
White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly released a statement after NPR published the story.
"It’s hilarious that NPR is publishing a multi-page lunch menu and calling it a ‘security breach,'" she said.
Kelly added, "This type of self-proclaimed ‘investigative journalism’ is why no one takes them seriously and they are no longer taxpayer-funded thanks to President Trump."
The Hill reported:
NPR reported that the eight papers, which contained information about meetings and locations of the summit, along with phone numbers of three U.S. government workers, were found on a hotel printer before the Friday Trump-Putin meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage.
The outlet gave a detailed breakdown of each of the eight papers. Some of them included names of various officials, and others included an itinerary of how the meeting would go.
The Office of the Chief of Protocol, a part of the State Department, produced the papers. Its mission, according to the website, seeks to "advance the foreign policy goals of the United States by creating an environment for successful diplomacy. Our team extends the first hand that welcomes presidents, prime ministers, ruling monarchs, and other leaders to our country."
Users across social media weighed in on the report.
🇺🇸🇷🇺 Government Papers Left in Hotel Reveal Trump-Putin Summit Details
Sensitive State Department documents left in an Anchorage hotel printer exposed meeting rooms, staff contacts, a planned gift for Putin, and seating for a canceled luncheon, per NPR. pic.twitter.com/RL9IVJXGPT
— Conflict Dispatch (@ConflictDISP) August 16, 2025
"OMG! They're so 'sensitive' that the press can show everyone in the entire world the contents and now everyone can see this was another fake news story," one X user wrote.
Another X user wrote, "With the release of these 'sensitive documents', he's put all Halibut and Filet Mignon at risk."
