Sunday shows preview: Pentagon leak continues to unravel; Abortion pill fight warms up

The ongoing fallout from the leak of classified documents from the Pentagon and the legal battle over a widely used abortion pill will likely dominate this week’s Sunday shows circuit. 

The Justice Department and Pentagon launched investigations last week following the revelation that about 100 classified records were leaked online on websites like Discord and Twitter, possibly as early as January. The documents detailed information about the war between Ukraine and Russia and U.S. spying operations. 

The information included expectations that Ukraine would run out of munitions for its Soviet-era air defense systems soon, doubts about the success of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive this spring and concerns that Taiwan would not be able to effectively defend itself from a Chinese air assault. 

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto earlier this week that the leaks were “very damaging” to the United States and its allies, specifically with it giving a “roadmap” to the country’s strategy in Russia. 

The leaked documents do not appear to include information about specific battle plans but do include analyses of the military situation. 

McCaul, who will appear on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” said he is worried that the documents’ reveal could further motivate those who have argued against continuing to send large amounts of funding to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. He said backing Ukraine is the main deterrent to prevent China from moving in to try to take Taiwan. 

“What this leak does is it undermines the confidence there, and it undermines this administration and what they are doing in this conflict in Ukraine,” he said. 

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who will appear on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” might also address the documents leak as he traveled to Ukraine earlier this week along with Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and country music artist Brad Paisley, to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

Kelly pledged to keep working with his colleagues in Congress to “get Ukraine the weapons and support they need to win” the war. 

Manchin’s office said the senators discussed military readiness, accountability for foreign assistance and how to rebuild parts of Ukraine with Zelensky. 

Congressional Democrats have remained almost completely united in maintaining support for Ukraine, while some Republicans, like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Matt Gaetz (Fla.), have raised questions about the amount of aid being sent. 

As for the leaks themselves, multiple officials, including Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), said in the days after the federal government began its investigation that the leaks could amount to espionage. 

Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was arrested on Thursday and has been charged with violating the Espionage Act and another law that prohibits the unauthorized removal of classified documents. Officials believe Teixeira posted the documents on a Discord group called “Thug Shaker Central.” 

Turner told CBS News that the documents showed “the extent” to which the U.S. and Ukraine are aware of what actions Russia is taking. 

We don’t know what else might be coming or what else they have access to,” Turner said. “That’s why it’s so important to find the source and to close down this source.” 

Turner will appear on “Face the Nation.” 

The debate over the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone, one of two abortion pills approved in the U.S., also will likely be discussed during the Sunday shows. 

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling last week that the FDA improperly rushed the approval process for the pill more than 20 years ago shined a national spotlight on abortion pills, which is the most commonly used method for abortions in the country. 

The federal government appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which allowed the pill to remain on the market but with certain restrictions on changes that the FDA recently made to make accessing the pill easier. 

The Biden administration then asked the Supreme Court to step in to remove the restrictions. The court briefly paused the appeals court ruling in an emergency order on Friday, ordering the status quo to remain in place until at least Wednesday while it reviews the administration’s request for a stay on the appeals court ruling. 

The response to Kacsmaryk’s ruling from Democrats was swift and highly critical, arguing that he is revoking access to a drug that has been proven to be safe and effective. 

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said in comments reacting to the decision along with other New York Democratic officials that reproductive rights have been “intensely” under attack since Roe v. Wade was overturned last June. 

She argued that the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe, denied women the right to privacy. 

“This Texas decision goes the next step, further defining what the denial of right to privacy looks like,” she said. “It means no right to privacy in the mail.” 

Gillibrand, who will appear on CNN’s “State of the Union” and “Fox News Sunday,” warned that the ruling could have implications of allowing the government to read someone’s mail and do “whatever they want” with someone’s personal information. 

“This decision is not going to stop here,” she said. “The next type of medicine they will deny, why wouldn’t they deny your reproductive care for birth control?” 

The Biden administration, Democrats and abortion rights advocates have argued that the ruling could undermine the FDA’s ability to approve other medications. 

Almost all congressional Democrats filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court on Friday to urge it to prevent the restrictions on mifepristone. 

“The perils of this unwarranted judicial intervention into science-based determinations can hardly be overstated,” they said. 

Republicans have been largely silent in the days following Kacsmaryk’s ruling, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), former President Trump and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) not addressing it. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has also remained mostly quiet on the issue despite having proposed a national 15-week abortion ban in September in the aftermath of Roe’s overturn. 

Graham, who will appear on ABC’s “This Week,” said on “Fox News Sunday” earlier this week that he believes in “common-sense” restrictions on abortion, which he said is where the country is at too. He said the Republican Party needs to have “reasonable” positions on abortion or it could cost the party elections. 

Some lawmakers have also called on the FDA to ignore the opinion from Kacsmaryk and continue to distribute the pill. They include Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina. 

Mace, who will appear on “Fox News Sunday,” has been open about favoring abortion rights and pushing back against “extreme views” on abortion. She said most of the country is “somewhere in the middle” on abortion. 

“I think that that 90 percent would be OK with listening to the FDA rather than a judge who used an old law that was determined unconstitutional by the Supreme Court,” she said. 

Below is the full list of guests scheduled to appear on this week’s Sunday talk shows: 

ABC’s “This Week” — Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.); Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.) 

NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.); Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 

CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.); Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio); former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R); Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank 

CNN’s “State of the Union” — Gov. Brian Kemp (R-Ga.); Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.); Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) 

“Fox News Sunday” — Gillibrand; Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.); Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) 

Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” — Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-Ark.); Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas); former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson; Michael Milken, chairman of the Milken Institute