Resort ‘nightmarish’: security expert Poll puts Truss ahead in PM race
WASHINGTON: The seizure of US government documents from Donald Trump’s sprawling MaraLago retreat spotlights the ongoing national security concerns presented by the former president, and the home he dubbed the Winter White House, some security experts say.
Trump is under federal investigation for possible violations of the Espionage Act, which makes it unlawful to spy for another country or mishandle US defence information, a search warrant shows.
As president, Trump sometimes shared information, regardless of its sensitivity.
Early in his presidency, he spontaneously gave highly classified information to Russia’s foreign minister about a planned Islamic State operation while he was in the Oval Office, US officials said at the time.
But it was at MaraLago, where wellheeled members and guests attended weddings and fundraising dinners and frolicked on a breezy ocean patio, that US intelligence seemed especially at risk.
The Secret Service said when Trump was president that it did not determine who was granted access to the club, but did do physical screenings to make sure noone brought in prohibited items, and further screening for guests in proximity to the president and other protectees.
The Justice Department’s search warrant raised concerns about national security, former DOJ official Mary McCord said.
‘‘Clearly they thought it was very serious to get these materials back into secured space.
‘‘Even just retention of highly classified documents in improper storage — particularly given MaraLago, the foreign visitors there and others who might have connections with foreign governments and foreign agents — creates a significant national security threat.’’
Tuesday’s seizure by FBI agents of sets of documents and dozens of boxes, including defence information and a reference to the ‘‘French President’’, poses a frightening scenario for intelligence professionals.
‘‘It’s a nightmarish environment for a careful handling of highly classified information,’’ one former US intelligence officer said.
The club’s vulnerabilities have been well documented.
In a highprofile example, Trump huddled in 2017 with Japan’s then prime minister the late Shinzo Abe at an outdoor dinner table while guests hovered nearby, listening and taking photos they later posted on Twitter.
The dinner was disrupted by a North Korean missile test, and guests listened as Trump and Abe figured out what to say in response. After issuing a statement, Trump dropped by a wedding party at the club.
‘‘What we saw was Trump be so lax in security that he was having a sensitive meeting regarding a potential war topic where nonUS government personnel could observe and photograph,’’ Mark Zaid, a lawyer who specialises in national security cases, said.
It was in the secure room at MaraLago where Trump decided to launch airstrikes against Syria for the use of chemical weapons in April 2017.
The decision made, Trump repaired to dinner with visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping. He informed Xi about the airstrikes over dessert. — Reuters
LONDON: British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is 22 percentage points ahead of her rival Rishi Sunak in the contest to become the country’s next prime minister, a poll of Conservative Party members by Opinium Research showed yesterday.
Among a sample of 450 party members who had decided how they would vote in the ongoing leadership election put Truss, who other polls have also shown to be the clear frontrunner, on 61%, with former finance minister Sunak on 39%, Opinium said.
The about 200,000 members of the ruling Conservatives are voting to decide on a replacement for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who after a series of scandals and a parliamentary rebellion said last month that he would step down once the party chose a replacement.
The overall sample size, including those who did not express a voting preference, was 570.
Less than a third of them, 29%, said they had already voted and a further 47% said they had made up their mind. Only 19% said they might still change their mind.
The leadership vote is taking place by postal ballot, with a winner due to be announced on September 5.
The poll was conducted between August 8 and August 12.
The poll shows that the top three reasons for supporting Truss were a dislike of Sunak, the perception that she was more trustworthy, and that she had remained loyal to Johnson. Sunak’s resignation helped trigger Johnson’s downfall.
Sunak supporters said he was better on the economy and the most competent or intelligent of the two candidates.
The pollster said they had observed ‘‘Johnson nostalgia’’ among party members, pointing a finding that 63% would rather Johnson remained in charge rather than Truss take over.
The preference for Johnson over Sunak was even stronger at 68%. — Reuters