Thread: Trump revealed highly classified info to Russians

Report: Trump revealed highly classified info to Russians

BY ELLEN MITCHELL - 05/15/17 05:19 PM EDT 2,208

3,073

Report: Trump revealed highly classified info to Russians

President Trump revealed highly classified intelligence information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador while meeting with them last week at the White House, The Washington Post reported Monday.

Current and former U.S. officials told the Post that Trump relayed information from a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

The information was provided by a U.S. partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement. The partner did not give the United States permission to share the information with Russia.

A U.S. official with knowledge of the meeting said Trump “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.”

Trump’s "code-word information" disclosure risks damaging the relationship with the intelligence source, which has access to ISIS inner workings.

Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office, the same week he fired FBI Director James Comey, who was overseeing an investigation into Russia’s alleged interference in last year’s presidential election and possible collusion with Trump's campaign.

"I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel every day," the president was quoted as saying, before elaborating with highly classified details.

Following the meeting, the White House contacted the CIA and National Security Agency to contain the damage, according to the Post.

Two U.S. officials confirmed the surprise disclosure to BuzzFeed News, which said the Senate Intelligence Committee was briefed following Trump's discussion with the Russians.

"It's far worse than what has already been reported," one source told BuzzFeed.

The meeting with Lavrov was his highest-level in-person engagement with the Russian government since he was inaugurated. Kislyak, meanwhile, was involved in several early controversies with the Trump White House. He had multiple phone conversations with former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn that are now the subject of investigation.

U.S. reporters were not permitted to cover the meeting, where Trump allegedly described details about an ISIS threat using laptop computers on planes.

National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster said Trump and the Russians merely “reviewed common threats from terrorist organizations to include threats to aviation,” and that “at no time were any intelligence sources or methods discussed and no military operations were disclosed that were not already already known publically.”

The CIA declined to comment to the Post while the NSA did not respond.

Following the revelation that Trump disclosed classified information to the Russians, several lawmakers posted on Twitter a July 2016 speech from House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), in which he said that individuals who are "extremely careless" with classified information should be denied further access to it, a reference to then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

http://thehill.com/policy/national-s...fo-to-russians

It's already been published in the news that the information regarding the laptop computers came from records obtained from the Al Qaeda headquarters in Yemen during the SEALS raid there. That was reported months ago.

Never a dull moment in TrumpWorld. But this does turn the narrative off of the Comey firing.

Trump Revealed Highly Classified Intelligence to Russia, in Break With Ally, Officials Say

By ERIC SCHMITT and MATTHEW ROSENBERG
MAY 15, 2017

Photo

President Trump met with Sergey V. Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, in the White House last week. American journalists were barred, but Russia released photographs. CreditRussian Foreign Ministry

WASHINGTON — President Trump boasted about highly classified intelligence in a meeting with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador last week, providing details that could expose the source of the information and the manner in which it was collected, a current and a former American government official said Monday.

The intelligence disclosed by Mr. Trump in a meeting with Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, and Sergey I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, was about an Islamic State plot, according to the officials. A foreign ally that closely guards its own secrets provided the information, which was considered so sensitive that American officials did not share it widely within the United States government or pass it on to other allies.

Mr. Trump’s disclosure does not appear to have been illegal — the president has the power to declassify almost anything. But sharing the information without the express permission of the ally who provided it represented a major breach of espionage etiquette, and could jeopardize a crucial intelligence-sharing relationship.

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The Washington Post first reported the disclosure, which immediately reverberated around Washington.

“The White House has got to do something soon to bring itself under control and in order,” Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee and the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters, adding, “It’s got to happen.”

“Obviously they’re in a downward spiral right now and they’ve got to figure out a way to come to grips with all that’s happening,” Mr. Corker said.

154COMMENTSAsked about the larger effect of the disclosure, Mr. Corker said, “To compromise a source is something that you just don’t do, and that’s why we keep the information that we get from intelligence sources so close as to prevent that from happening.”

Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia and the vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said on Twitter, “If true, this is a slap in the face to the intel community. Risking sources & methods is inexcusable, particularly with the Russians.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/u...tion-isis.html

Wow, this non-story is all that Fox News and CNN has been rehasing all afternoon. Listening to some of the ridiculous crap being spewed over this on CNN made me want to laugh.

My recommendation to Republicans who want to put their faith and truth in false stories "leaked" by treasonous former officials leaking classified information from a corrupt "intel" community to the Washington Post and the New York Times instead of in the President, Secretary of State, National Security Adviser, and Deputy National Security Adviser, then frankly, you are not fit to serve in the US Congress as a Republican.

You know the story is fake because it was leaked by the very people who are supposed to keep such information secret. How Corker could fall for this sham just shows he's not fit to be Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee.

The US government has to hunt down these leakers, charge and prosecute them. The Washington Post is as unsavory as a dirty litter box.

Tue May 16, 2017 | 12:11pm EDT

Trump defends his 'absolute right' to share information with Russians

By Doina Chiacu and Susan Heavey | WASHINGTON

Facing a deluge of criticism over his handling of highly classified information, U.S. President Donald Trump defended having shared "facts" with senior Russian officials, saying on Tuesday he had an "absolute right" to do so and had been trying to get Moscow to be more active in combating Islamic State militants.

Trump's acknowledgement that he had given sensitive information during a White House meeting last week undercut intense efforts by senior aides to play down the incident on Monday evening, after news reports emerged of Trump's conversations about a planned Islamic State operation.

The president took to Twitter on Tuesday to defend his actions in the face of intense criticism, including from some of his fellow Republicans.

Two U.S. officials said Trump shared the intelligence, supplied by a U.S. ally in the fight against the militant Islamist group, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak during an Oval Office meeting last Wednesday.

The disclosures roiled the administration as it struggled to move past the backlash over Trump's abrupt firing on May 9 of FBI Director James Comey, who was investigating potential ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

Russia has denied such meddling, and Trump bristles at any suggestion he owed his Nov. 8 victory to Moscow.

"As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety," Trump said on Twitter.

"Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism."

A U.S. president has the authority to disclose even the most highly classified information at will, but multiple U.S. and allied officials told Reuters that Trump had endangered cooperation from an ally that has some intelligence on Islamic State.

In his tweets, Trump did not dispute media reports, initially from The Washington Post, that he revealed details that could jeopardize intelligence capabilities.

FILE PHOTO: A combination of file photos showing Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attending a news conference in Moscow, Russia, November 18, 2015, and U.S. President Donald Trump posing for a photo in New York City, U.S., May 17, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev/Lucas Jackson/File Photos

That appeared to put him at odds with members of his own senior staff. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster denied on Monday that Trump had revealed intelligence sources and methods or military operations at the Russia meeting.

U.S. ALLIES
In a later tweet, Trump took aim at "LEAKERS in the intelligence community," a frequent target of his months-old administration.

The U.S. officials told Reuters that Trump revealed the information to the Russians without consulting the ally that provided it, which threatens to jeopardize a long-standing intelligence-sharing agreement.

U.S. allies including Australia, New Zealand and Japan cited the White House denials and said intelligence sharing would continue. Some analysts, however, said the reports could undermine trust between partners.
The reports came days before Trump departs on Friday for his first overseas trip as president, traveling to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Italy and Belgium on visits that will test his foreign policy skills.

The turmoil has overshadowed Republican legislative priorities such as healthcare and tax reform and laid bare sharp divisions between the White House and U.S. intelligence agencies, which concluded in January that Russia had tried to influence the election in Trump's favor.

Trump repeatedly assailed his Democratic rival in the presidential election, Hillary Clinton, for her handling of classified information by email while she was secretary of state. The FBI concluded after an investigation last year that there were no grounds to pursue any charges against Clinton.

KREMLIN DEFENSE

The Kremlin came to Trump's defense, calling reports that he had disclosed classified material in the White House meeting as "complete nonsense." Trump has frequently said he wants better relations with Moscow.

The two top Republicans in Congress, which is controlled by the party, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, were muted in their response. Ryan's office said he hoped for a full explanation, while McConnell told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday he wished for a little less drama from the White House.

Other Republicans, however, expressed concern.

Senator Susan Collins said on Tuesday that even though the president has legal authority to disclose classified information, "it would be very troubling if he did share such sensitive reporting with the Russians."

She called for the Senate Intelligence Committee to be briefed on the matter.

Bob Corker, the Republican head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Monday the allegations were "very, very troubling."

"Obviously, they’re in a downward spiral right now," he said of the White House. "And they’ve got to come to grips with all that’s happening."

U.S. Senator John McCain, a Republican foreign policy hawk who has frequently criticized Trump, said the reports that the president shared sensitive intelligence with Russian officials "are deeply disturbing."

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-us...-idUSKCN18C19Y

Trump didn't disclose anything inappropriate to Russia regarding terrorism and aviation safety. To those who have bought into the totally false narrative that Russia is somehow our enemy or adversary are just wrong or stupid as goose hockey or don't know the actual history between the US and Russia or are Hillary Shrills blaming Russia for her defeat or NeverTrumpers who hate Trump because he wants to fix our country and//or called Rosie a slob over a decade ago in a publicity stunt to increase ratings for The View.

Trump admits sharing information with Russia about terror threat

Los Angeles Times

- ‎42 minutes ago‎

In tweets Tuesday morning, President Trump said he had shared "facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety" with Russian diplomats in an Oval Office meeting last week, confirming a key part of a news report his aides had denied the night ...


Trump contradicts his aides, defends his right to share intelligence with Russian officials

MAY 16, 2017, 10:46 A.M.

Here's our look at the Trump administration and the rest of Washington:

• In tweets, Trump acknowledges that he shared information with Russians, blames "leakers"
• White House denies President Trump revealed highly classified intelligence to Russian officials
• Senators call reports of President Trump's comments to Russians 'reckless'
• Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein to brief full Senate on firing of FBI chief

All updates Congress Immigration Media Watch: On the Right North Korea Obamacare Russia Supreme Court Trump budget White House

MAY 16, 2017, 5:10 A.M.

Trump admits sharing information with Russia about terror threat

David Lauter

In tweets Tuesday morning, President Trump said he had shared "facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety" with Russian diplomats in an Oval Office meeting last week, confirming a key part of a news report his aides had denied the night before.

Trump said he had shared the information in the hopes of getting Russia to "greatly step up their fights against ISIS and terrorism," referring to the Islamic State.

Trump did not address the allegation at the heart of the story published Monday evening by the Washington Post -- that the information he gave Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergei Kislyak included details provided to the U.S. by a foreign intelligence service that were highly sensitive and that the U.S. had promised not to share with other countries.

But his reference in the tweet to having an "absolute right" to share the information implied that he knows that some of what he said involved classified material.

Under federal law, the president has a legal right to declassify information.

In a brief appearance Monday night, White House national security advisor H.R. McMaster had said the Post story was false "as reported," a carefully worded denial that went on to dispute something that the story had not alleged. Trump had not shared any information that divulged "sources or methods" of intelligence collection, McMaster said.

The story said that the details Trump had shared, which included the name of the city in Syria where Islamic State operatives were preparing an airline bomb plot, could have allowed the Russians to deduce which foreign intelligence service had provided the information. That could jeopardize cooperation with that country, U.S. officials feared, according to the Post.

The plot appears to have involved using laptop computers to conceal bombs, according to U.S. officials.

The New York Times reported that it had confirmed a similar account Monday night.

Trump's tweets marked the second time in a week that he has made statements that forced his staff to change their story about a major news development.

Last week, in an interview with NBC, he said he had decided to fire FBI Director James Comey regardless of any recommendation from Justice Department officials. White House representatives had spent the previous 36 hours insisting that he had acted on the recommendation of Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod J. Rosenstein.

Trump also said in the interview that he had been thinking about the "Russia thing" when he fired Comey, a reference to the FBI's investigation into Russia's efforts to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. His aides had also denied that.

As he has before, Trump suggested that the real problem wasn't his conduct, but the fact that U.S. officials had told the press about it.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/wash...htmlstory.html