Out the gilded doors, past layers of security and behind a set of black curtains, the country’s top national security officials were convening in anticipation of a long night. By the time President Donald Trump touched down, the space was running as a makeshift Situation Room from which he would oversee the start of a sustained attack on Iran. In one photo, he leans into his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, as she gestures with her right hand. The potential intersection of paying club members with the country’s most sensitive national security secrets gives some intelligence officials agita. It was in a windowless basement room that Trump met with top national security officials in 2020 to make a final decision on taking out Iran’s top military commander, Qasem Soleimani.

Source: CNN March 02, 2026 01:56 UTC