The White House trotted out three senior administration officials - National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson - to deny the very reports Trump openly confirmed less than 24 hours later. He said Mr Trump discussed a range of subjects with the Russians, including "common efforts and threats regarding counter-terrorism".
The latest controversy came as Trump's administration reels from the fallout over his abrupt dismissal of former FBI Director James Comey and amid congressional calls for an independent investigation into allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 US election. 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.
The third country, an ally of the U.S., had shared the information on the express condition it be closely guarded.
Analysis of the denial by the Post said its report did not say Trump disclosed intelligence sources or methods or publicly known military operations. "I was in the room, it didn't happen".
Trump sacked FBI Director James Comey last week, admitting that "this Russian Federation thing" was on his mind when he made the decision.
The disclosure also risks harming his credibility with United States partners around the world ahead of his first overseas trip.
"Never before have I witnessed a senior government official so carelessly threaten an intelligence-sharing relationship", a former senior intelligence official told CNN. He's openly questioned the competency of intelligence officials and challenged their high-confidence assessment that Russian Federation meddled in last year's presidential election to help him win.
A European security official said sharing sensitive information could dampen the trust between the USA and its intelligence-sharing partners. "This confuses me to no end".
Head of Islamic State in Afghanistan killed
The U.S. military statement said 35 Islamic State fighters and several high ranking commanders were killed in the April 27 raid . President Trump could be asked next week to send more troops to Afghanistan as the 16-year war grinds on in a bloody stalemate.
Phil Mudd, a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst, said on "New Day" the fact that Trump chose to discuss classified information but did not ask Russian Federation about its role in the 2016 election is problematic.
"This isn't the biggest news out of that meeting", he said.
There's nothing that the president takes more seriously than the security of the American people.
"He didn't talk about election meddling", the CNN counterterrorism analyst added.
For Donald-loathers, the story fits: Trump, the Russian agent of influence, uses his position as Commander-in-Chief to spill state secrets that compromise American security. An excerpt from an official transcript of the meeting reveals that Trump told them, "I get great intel".
Donald Trump either has nothing to hide about his relationship with Russian Federation - or he is hiding in plain sight, as all good con artists do.
"This is perhaps the gravest allegation of presidential misconduct in the scandal-ridden four months of the Trump administration", the blog said. Photos from the meeting sparked a media firestorm after they were published by Russian state media.
Shortly after the nature of Trump's meeting with the Russians was revealed Monday, past statements by Trump and a number of Republicans as well as social media posts relating to Clinton's situation resurfaced.
Comments