Trump, aides furious at leak of briefing for call to Putin
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and some aides were furious Wednesday over the leak of sensitive notes for briefing the president before a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to aides and a close associate.
The leak appeared designed to embarrass Trump for congratulating rather than confronting Putin — contrary to the notes’ recommendation.
“If this story is accurate, that means someone leaked the president’s briefing papers,” said a senior White House official not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. “Leaking such information is a fireable offense and likely illegal.” President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke Tuesday, with Trump congratulating Putin on his re-election as Russian president.
Trump spoke with Putin on Tuesday and was criticized afterward, including by Republican lawmakers, for congratulating the Russian leader on his re-election Sunday. The president did so despite widespread outrage, including among other administration officials, that Putin’s government has subverted democracy in Russia, continues to try to disrupt U.S.
elections, is committing atrocities in Syria and recently carried out an assassination attempt in Britain using a military-grade nerve agent.
The Washington Post reported late Tuesday, citing unnamed officials, that Trump ignored a warning in his briefing materials, written in capital letters, that said “DO NOT CONGRATULATE.” It is unclear whether the president saw the material, sources said.
Leaking such materials is an extraordinary step, given the level of sensitivity in contacts between the president and a foreign leader, especially a geopolitical rival.
The disclosure about the Putin call, however, is especially fraught, underscoring Trump’s much-criticized insistence on warm relations with Putin despite national security concerns, as well as the president’s own political and legal vulnerability amid a special counsel’s probe of Russia’s election interference.
The leak also suggests that dismay with Trump extends to his inner circle.
White House chief of staff John Kelly is said to be infuriated — “on a warpath,” according to the person in close contact with national security officials. The leak further undercuts
Kelly, who has prided himself on bringing more order to the White House since arriving last summer, and on ensuring that Trump has high-quality briefing material.
“Trump’s mad enough and Kelly’s embarrassed to some extent that this is happening,” the person said. “And I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a scalp over this.”
Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.
Trump is expected to impose roughly $30 billion in tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S., according to a U.S. official familiar with the internal discussions who did not want to be quoted in advance of the formal announcement.
The taxes on imports and other steps Trump plans to take are aimed at ending China’s long practice of pressuring U.S. firms to turn over technology and production secrets, and in some cases stealing them using cyber-theft and other forms of industrial espionage.
The moves likely would raise the prices of a wide variety of Chinese goods, such computers and other electronics.
The goal would be to hit products with a maximum impact on China and the least possible impact on U.S. consumers, Lighthizer said.
But he warned that China could retaliate against U.S. exports. And outside analysts have warned the moves could generate a damaging trade war.
The moves against China come at a time of increasing global trade tensions from the administration’s recent decision to slap sweeping tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Those tariffs are scheduled to take effect Friday, even though the administration has not decided on a long list of requests by countries and specific industries for exemptions. President Donald Trump is also planning to announce a series of tariffs on Chinese exports, which some analysts fear could launch a damaging trade war.
People with knowledge of how the White House operates said the number of people who see Trump’s briefing materials is relatively small, perhaps 12 to 20 people, depending on the topic.
They cautioned, however, that a wider circle could have learned that information secondhand.
Ned Price, a former CIA analyst and Obama administration national security advisor, said that the leak was just one problem, and that the call itself was concerning.
He cited the fact that the president reportedly made the call from the White House residential quarters rather than the Oval Office, where more advisers can be on hand; that Trump’s preparation with na- tional security advisor H.R. McMaster was apparently done over the phone; and that the written material consisted of handwritten notecards.
“It really paints a picture of sloppiness, of lack of care, a lack of precision on the part of the president and on the part of the staff who went along with this,” Price said.
The latest White House uproar comes as Trump moves toward a major confrontation with China over its trade practices, as administration officials put the final touches on billions of dollars of tariffs aimed at Chinese exports and possible restrictions on investments in the U.S.
An announcement by Trump is “imminent,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told members of the House