Trump Revealed Classified Information to Russians

U.S. President Donald Trump defended himself on Tuesday after media reports found that Trump had revealed highly classified information about a planned Islamic State operation to Russia’s foreign minister. 

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"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."

The intelligence was shared at the meeting last week in the White House between Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. The information was supplied by a U.S. ally through an intelligence-sharing arrangement and was tightly restricted even within the U.S. government, according to the Washington Post, who first reported the news.

The name of the ally or intelligence-sharing operation was not disclosed.

Trump weighed in personally after H.R. McMaster, Trump's national security adviser, told reporters that the story is “false.”

"At no time were intelligence sources or methods discussed. The president did not disclose any military operations that were not already publicly known ... I was in the room. It didn't happen," McMaster previously said.

The White House also released a statement from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who said the Oval Office meeting focused on counterterrorism, and from Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell, who called the Washington Post story false.

The Kremlin denied such allegations, saying the media reports are “complete nonsense.”

The revelation came as Trump faces increasing pressure after his dismissal of former FBI Director James Comey last week as the bureau was investigating possible links between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Moscow. 

One day after firing Comey, Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office. 

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

Trump also discussed aspects of the threat, such as how the Islamic State was pursuing elements of a specific plot and how much harm such an attack could cause. Trump didn’t reveal the specific intelligence-gathering methods, but did reveal the city in the Islamic State’s territory where the U.S. intelligence partner detected the threat. 

Bob Corker, the Republican head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called the allegations "very, very troubling."

“Obviously, they’re in a downward spiral right now and they’ve got to come to grips with all that’s happening," he said.

U.S. officials said while the president has the authority to disclose highly classified information at will, he didn’t consult the ally that provided it, which may undermine the trust between partners.

"If true, this is not going to instill confidence in allies already wary of sharing the most sensitive information," one senior diplomat of the NATO alliance told Reuters. 

U.S. allies in the intelligence-sharing network known as “Five Eyes,” which includes the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, tried to play down the impact after the reports.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee noted the story had been denied. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told a radio station in Adelaide the alliance with the United States "is the bedrock of our national security." 

Trump’s latest controversy also drew criticism from his fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate, whose legislative priorities were overshadowed by the turmoil. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday said Congress could do with fewer distractions from the White House. 

"We could do with a little less drama from the White House on a lot of things so we can focus on our agenda, which is deregulation, tax reform and repealing and replacing Obamacare,"  McConnell said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.