Trump says has right to share facts with Russians

WASHINGTON: Facing a deluge of criticism over his handling of highly classified information, US President Donald Trump defended having shared “facts” with senior Russian officials, saying on Tuesday he had an “absolute right” to do so and had been trying to get Moscow to be more active in combating IS militants.

Trump’s acknowledgement that he had given sensitive information during a White House meeting last week undercut intense efforts by senior aides to play down the incident on Monday evening, after news reports emerged of Trump’s conversations about a planned IS operation.

The president took to Twitter on Tuesday to defend his actions in the face of intense criticism, including from some of his fellow Republicans.

Two US officials said Trump shared the intelligence, supplied by a US ally in the fight against the militant group, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak during an Oval Office meeting last Wednesday.

The disclosures roiled the administration as it struggled to move past the backlash over Trump’s abrupt firing on May 9 of FBI Director James Comey, who was investigating potential ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Russia has denied such meddling, and Trump bristles at any suggestion he owed his November 8 victory to Moscow.

“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.”