Trump administration sees no hazard in intel-sharing with Russia
The US president’s decision to disclose classified counterterrorism data touched off new criticism, some of it from the Republican Party
The administration of US President Donald Trump insisted the chief executive’s decision to share classified information with Russia’s foreign minister and US ambassador created no danger for US intelligence officials and will not threaten relations with America’s allies because the source of the information wasn’t divulged.
In a briefing held away from news cameras, White House press secretary Sean Spicer would not confirm a report that Israel was the source of the intelligence that President Trump shared with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak in a White House meeting last week.
The New York Times had reported that Israel provided the information that Trump disclosed. The US obtained the information on an Islamic State group plot from Israel under an intelligence-sharing agreement between the two countries, the Times reported.
Earlier, US national security adviser H.R. McMaster defended Trump’s decision to share counterterrorism information with the Russian officials, saying the exchange “was wholly appropriate” because Trump didn’t share the source of the intelligence or how the information was gathered.
McMaster spoke to reporters just a few hours after Trump asserted in a tweet that he had an “absolute right” to share information with Russia as part of efforts to fight Islamic State and terrorism.