National Security

Report: Trump Shared Classified Info With the Russians

Written by SK Ashby

Remember Trump's secret meeting with the Russian ambassador and foreign minister? The meeting that a Russian photographer was allowed to take photos of while no American reporters were allowed in the room.

According to the Washington Post, Trump blurted out highly classified information about an intelligence source during his meeting with the Russians.

The information the president relayed had been provided by a U.S. partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the U.S. government, officials said.

The partner had not given the United States permission to share the material with Russia, and officials said Trump’s decision to do so endangers cooperation from an ally that has access to the inner workings of the Islamic State. After Trump’s meeting, senior White House officials took steps to contain the damage, placing calls to the CIA and the National Security Agency. [...]

“This is code-word information,” said a U.S. official familiar with the matter, using terminology that refers to one of the highest classification levels used by American spy agencies. Trump “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.” [...]

In his meeting with Lavrov, Trump seemed to be boasting about his inside knowledge of the looming threat. “I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel every day,” the president said, according to an official with knowledge of the exchange.

While the Washington Post is aware of exactly what Trump disclosed during the meeting, they are not publishing the details because doing so would be irresponsible. The "fake news," as Trump likes to call them, is showing more responsibility than he did.

Two officials also confirmed the Washington Post's report with Buzzfeed News.

Two US officials who were briefed on Trump’s disclosures last week confirmed to BuzzFeed News the veracity of the Post report, with one official noting that “it’s far worse than what has already been reported.”

The Senate Intelligence Committee was also briefed on Trump’s disclosures, one of the officials said.

I don't think anyone should automatically assume this was an accident. Trump is known for saying things he shouldn't say, but we still don't know the extent to which he's been compromised by the Russians.