WASHINGTON — (AP) The Washington Post is reporting that President Donald Trump revealed highly classified information about Islamic State militants to Russian officials during a meeting at the White House last week.
The newspaper cites current and former U.S. officials who say Trump jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on IS in his conversations with the Russian foreign minister and the Russian ambassador to the U.S. They say Trump offered details about an IS terror threat related to the use of laptop computers on aircraft.
The newspaper says the information was very sensitive and had been provided by a U.S. partner.
National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster says no intelligence sources or methods were discussed and no military operations were disclosed that were not already known publicly.
The CIA is declining to comment.
The New York Times is reporting that the disclosure was not illegal, however the President violated ‘espionage etiquette” by not asking permission from the ally who provided the information before discussing it.
CNN’s Jim Acosta tweeted that the White House reports the story is false.
Dina Powell statement provided by WH: “This story is false. The president only discussed the common threats that both countries faced.”
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) May 15, 2017
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the following statement:
“During President Trump’s meeting with Foreign Minister Lavrov a broad range of subjects were discussed among which were common efforts and threats regarding counter-terrorism. During that exchange the nature of specific threats were discussed, but they did not discuss sources, methods or military operations.”
Local legislators were not happy with the reports.
Where are all those folks who chanted “lock her up”?https://t.co/wVbxNUv4HX
— Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) May 15, 2017
If true, this is a slap in the face to the intel community. Risking sources & methods is inexcusable, particularly with the Russians. https://t.co/CRiSC024F7
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) May 15, 2017
Very dangerous—compromising critical sources only helps our enemies and hurts our allies. https://t.co/gXIVQkzPg5
— Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) May 15, 2017
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