Embattled US President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday he had the right
to share "facts" with Russia, one day after
bombshell allegations that
he divulged highly classified intelligence to Russian diplomats in the
Oval Office.
According to an explosive report from the Washington Post, Trump
revealed highly classified information on the Islamic State group during
a meeting last week with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and
Moscow's man in Washington Sergey Kislyak.
In a shock twist, the information reportedly came from a US ally who
had not authorized Washington to share it with Moscow, a potential blow
to intelligence relationships based on trust that secrets will be kept.
"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 pushed back in an early
morning tweet.
Trump wrote that he was motivated by "humanitarian reasons, plus I
want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS &
terrorism."
The US leader's disclosure of classified information did not break
the law, according to the national security blog Lawfare, but such
revelations could expose sources and methods and "substantially harm" US
intelligence gathering partnerships with foreign governments.
"This is perhaps the gravest allegation of presidential misconduct in
the scandal-ridden four months of the Trump administration," the blog
said. "This story is likely to be immensely consequential."
National Security Advisor HR McMaster denied the president revealed
"intelligence sources or methods," but acknowledged that Trump and
Lavrov "reviewed a range of common threats to our two countries,
including threats to civil aviation."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday dubbed the news "nonsense," saying it was not worth confirming or denying.
Latest crisis
The Post, citing unnamed officials, said Trump went off script during
the meeting, describing details about an Islamic State terror threat
related to the use of laptop computers on airplanes, revealing the city
where the information was gathered.
The Trump administration recently barred the use of laptops in the
passenger cabin from several countries in the Middle East and is mulling
the expansion of that ban to cover jets originating in Europe.
"There's nothing that the president takes more seriously than the
security of the American people. The story that came out tonight as
reported is false," McMaster said without elaborating on which elements
were wrong.
"Two other senior officials who were present, including the secretary
of state, remember the meeting the same way and have said so. Their
on-the-record accounts should outweigh those of anonymous sources. I was
in the room. It didn't happen."
McMaster earlier refused to answer questions to a group of
journalists gathered in the West Wing, saying "this is the last place I
wanted to be" before leaving.
The revelations are the latest in a wave of crises to hit the White
House, which late Monday was in a state of shock, with aides frantically
trying to put out the fire and determine the source of such damaging
leaks.
"I have been asking Director Comey & others, from the beginning
of my administration, to find the LEAKERS in the intelligence
community," Trump tweeted Tuesday.
Since coming to office in January, Trump has lurched from crisis to
crisis, lampooning the intelligence services, law enforcement and the
media along the way.
Last week, Trump threw his administration into turmoil by taking the
rare step of firing his FBI director James Comey. He had been overseeing
investigations into possible Trump campaign collusion with Russia to
skew the 2016 election.
Trump's meeting with top Russian diplomats came one day after Comey's firing.
-But political and legal experts said this latest misstep is among the most egregious so far of Trump's presidency.
For Trump's already weary allies in Congress, the latest crisis
brought more headaches and demanded yet more explanation from an
administration that is struggling to leave its legislative mark.
"The White House has got to do something soon to bring itself under
control and in order. It's got to happen," said Republican Senator Bob
Corker.
"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,"
Corker said.
Meanwhile, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer accused Trump of potentially putting American lives at risk.
"If the report is true, it is very disturbing. Revealing classified
information at this level is extremely dangerous and puts at risk the
lives of Americans and those who gather intelligence for our country,"
the New York senator said.
"The president owes the intelligence community, the American people and Congress a full explanation."
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