Is it a desperate lurch for relevance? Maybe something served up as “proof” that they do great journalism in need of public support? Or is it a desire to shame the administration that recently yanked its federal funding? Regardless of the motivation, National Public Radio has just shamed itself with what it was certain was an explosive exposé from the recent summit held between President Trump and Vladimir Putin.
READ MORE: Trump Arriving in Alaska Friday for Meet-Up With Putin, and the Local Left Has Big Plans
Reporter Chiara Eisner arrives with an excitable breaking story of the discovery of documents at a hotel nearby where the two world leaders met this past week. This is delivered with all of the intonation of earth-spinning geopolitical intrigue, the likes of which have not been seen since possibly the release of The Pentagon Papers! Behold the geo-political ramifications with the exposure of…planned activities.
Papers with U.S. State Department markings, found Friday morning in the business center of an Alaskan hotel, revealed previously undisclosed and potentially sensitive details about the Aug. 15 meetings between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin in Anchorage.
…
At around 9 a.m. on Friday, three guests at Hotel Captain Cook, a four-star hotel located 20 minutes from the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage where leaders from the U.S. and Russia convened, found the documents. NPR reviewed photos of the documents taken by one of the guests, who NPR agreed not to identify because the guest said they feared retaliation.
The use of “potentially” is doing all of the lifting here. What follows is not quite the type of political intrigue or national thriller content you may find in a Brad Thor novel. Instead, we get hyperventilating coverage over content that rises to the level of your professional event planner. The eight pages (of what they laughably describe as “government papers”) were not passed along discreetly in an elevator or via a clandestine briefcase exchange – they were found on a printer in the hotel’s public general use office room near the lobby.
These sheets exposed potentially damaging secrets such as the schedule of events, the names and faces of those in attendance, the contact numbers for a few members of the U.S. delegation, as well as the gift presented to Vlad Putin (a bald eagle desk adornment). We also have an intercepted document exposing the seating chart at the planned luncheon. And some of this sensitive intel that has now been made public includes the discovery that the salad for the meal would have had a champagne vinaigrette.
It seems quite clear that Ms. Eisner and her NPR editors did not spend much time contemplating the origins of these “government papers.” Did they really think that the administration officials would resort to the devices in a hotel’s common area, using the public wifi, to disseminate classified information? Also apparent is that Eisner is rather unfamiliar with event tip sheets with agenda specs passed out for use by the public – and, ironically, the press.
READ MORE: President Trump and President Putin Meet in Alaska–Here’s What Happened
Even as it is now apparent she was not looped in with these agenda items, did it not occur to this reporter that this was something sent out to others as basic background on the event? One indicator of this purpose being to guide those covering the summit is the inclusion of the phonetic pronunciation of the Russian names. How was it conceived that the more likely scenario was that an administration official was running off classified documents in the hotel lobby, and not another reporter likely printing off the event from an email provided by a media contact?
But Eisner was so convinced of Pulitzer-level journalism that she even elicited the opinion of an “expert” on global affairs to confirm her findings.
Jon Michaels, a professor of law at UCLA who lectures about national security, said that the documents found in the printer of the Alaskan hotel reveal a lapse in professional judgement in preparation for a high-stakes meeting. “It strikes me as further evidence of the sloppiness and the incompetence of the administration,” said Michaels. “You just don’t leave things in printers. It’s that simple.”
Yes, because of this unprofessional lapse, the world is now fully aware that crème brûlée was to be served for the dessert at the since-canceled lunch.
— Chiara Eisner 🎤 (@ChiaraEisner) August 16, 2025
You get the real sense of the lack of import this NPR dispatch contains by the coverage seen from the rest of the news outlets. The few that made follow-up reports have not sold the concept of state secrets being revealed; instead, they merely echo the details and claims in the NPR report.
We have to suppose there may be a continuing investigation into the particulars of this document revelation: Was the serving of both filet mignon and halibut at the planned luncheon considered to be “surf & turf,” or was it “surf OR turf” on the menu????
Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
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