While the president has the authority to disclose even the most highly classified information at will, in this case he did so without consulting the ally that provided it, which threatens to jeopardize a long-standing intelligence-sharing agreement, the US officials said.
President Donald Trump smiles while meeting with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Monday, May 15, 2017, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.
Trump's administration was left red-faced after Moscow surprised them by releasing pictures of what was meant to be a closed-door meeting.
Mr Trump's response came after the Washington Post reported that he revealed highly classified information to senior Russian officials during an Oval Office meeting last week, putting a source of intelligence on the Islamic State group at risk.
The news will "add fuel to fire" both about Trump's ties to Russian Federation and "to those harboring doubts as to Trump's fitness to be president", said Richard Haass, who heads the Council on Foreign Relations and previously served as a national security aide to both presidents Bush.
"The story that came out tonight, as reported, is false", national security adviser H.R. McMaster said last night.
In a shock twist, the intelligence reportedly came from a USA ally who did not authorise Washington to share it with Moscow.
The latest incident comes just a week after Trump fired Comey.
USA preparing additional sanctions for N Korea: Tillerson
Some Washington-based experts said the US needs to put more focus on countering North Korea's threats than the maritime disputes. Manila hopes talks on the framework for the code of conduct would be concluded during its 2017 Asean chairmanship.
In the era of Trump, intelligence sharing could become decidedly less comfortable for foreign partners. White House officials denied the story but refused to answer specific questions.
Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and one of his advisers, signalled to people outside the White House that he was not closely involved. Lawfare, a blog created by well-known lawyers on the law and national security, said it is not illegal for the president to disclose classified information as he sees fit.
A statement from the office of House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., read, "We have no way to know what was said, but protecting our nation's secrets is paramount. It puts at risk the lives of Americans and those who gather intelligence for our country", Schumer said in the tweets. "The president owes the intelligence community, the American people and Congress a full explanation", said the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of NY. In fact, in regard to the Washington Post's bombshell article published on Monday, McMaster was the only source named by the newspaper in the piece, and he just so happens to deny that anything illicit took place during the meeting.
American presidents have the power to unilaterally disclose any material - even the most secret intelligence - without going through any kind of formal process, or worrying about prosecution.
Despite the sensitive nature of the classified information Trump is said to have revealed, as president, Trump acted within his legal right. "This is information at code-word level", said an American official with access to the subject, referring to one of the highest classifications in American intelligence agencies.
A senior European intelligence official told the AP his country might stop sharing information with the United States if it confirms that Trump shared classified details with Russian officials.
President Donald Trump meets with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
The many paths from Trump to Russia Early responses to the bombshell report indicate that, if true, handling sensitive details in this manner would have broad implications on U.S. partnerships around the world and could place the lives of agents in the field at risk.
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