WASHINGTON (TNND) — David Milstein, a top aide to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, has allegedly suppressed or altered reports critical of Israel, according to a report.
In March, Israel quietly approved more Israeli settlements in the West Bank than it ever had at once, The New York Times reported. Since President Trump had told Israel not to annex the West Bank, staff members at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem drafted an urgent report for policymakers in Washington, D.C.
However, the report never reached the U.S. since Milstein quashed it, three unnamed U.S. officials told The Times.
Milstein, who is Fox News host Mark Levin’s stepson, began his role in April 2025 and has repeatedly changed or suppressed the embassy’s reports on Israeli activities to present Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in a favorable light, a dozen anonymous people who work with or interact with the adviser in both Jerusalem and Washington, D.C., told the newspaper.
Amid settler violence in the West Bank in the spring, Milstein blocked embassy reporting that suggested the Israeli government was failing to take action, according to the three unnamed officials. The embassy instead sent a cable to Washington, D.C., praising Israel for “cracking down” on the attacks, which The Times viewed.
In March, as Congress members sought accountability over Israeli settlers and security forces killing nine Palestinian Americans, Milstein suppressed a report written by embassy staff, effectively stonewalling lawmakers’ efforts to gain information, according to multiple anonymous officials.
Shortly after arriving in Jerusalem, Milstein insisted on approving communications from the embassy section on Palestinian affairs, multiple unnamed officials told The Times. The number of cables dropped from several a week to a few a month, with some staffers refraining from writing reports because they feared that Milstein would block or rewrite them, according to the officials.
Several officials said that Milstein’s interventions far surpass those of any recent predecessor. They said they were speaking out of concern that Washington, D.C., officials were not getting a correct view of Israeli actions through core diplomatic channels.
Huckabee and Milstein declined The Times’ requests for an interview.
When asked about Milstein’s actions, Huckabee said in a statement, “The elements of the story The New York Times is trying to assemble are so lacking in fact that it ranks up with other Times farcical endeavors.”
“I personally and categorically refute the elements of your proposed ‘story,’” he added.
The State Department told The Times in a statement: “The entire team at State remains focused on advancing President Trump’s America First agenda.”
While Huckabee has advocated for Israeli settlements for years, he has denounced specific attacks by settlers, calling them “Israeli terrorists.” Meanwhile, he has downplayed settler violence more broadly, saying it is a small group carrying it out.
Most cables and significant decisions must be signed off by Huckabee, but officials said that Milstein sometimes acts on his own. The ambassador has also sometimes worked with Milstein to suppress or recast information, according to the officials. In several cases, when Huckabee believed Milstein had gone too far, he reined the adviser in, the officials said.
The Times interviewed 15 U.S. officials, many of whom are in Washington, D.C., who have all worked with Milstein in some manner. These people were career government officials and political appointees, including strong supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Most told The Times that they were speaking out of concern that Milstein’s actions are undermining standard diplomatic work and, in some cases, contradict Trump’s stated policies.
While Trump said last year that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, he has said little about the issue since, beyond briefly reaffirming his stance in February, even as Israel was extending more control over the territory.
According to a Politico report last month, Milstein allegedly solicited cash gifts from Israeli citizens to celebrate his future wedding.
After Politico asked Milstein if the White House approved of the solicitation, he reportedly sent out a revised note to invitees.
The updated note to guests read, “Unfortunately, our email/message intended only to respond to requests from family and close family friends who had asked us if we had a gift registry was unintentionally sent to the broader guest list. Please know we cannot accept gifts of any kind.”
Huckabee posted on X at the time that he had “absolute confidence” in Milstein, whom he said possesses “impeccable integrity.”