Trump defends sharing ‘facts’
Report says Israel was source of intel on ISIS terror threat
Reports: Israel source of intellligence on ISIS threat,
As President WASHINGTON Trump defended his right to share “facts” about terrorism and airline safety with Russian diplomats, reports surfaced Tuesday that Israel supplied the secret information at the heart of the latest furor to engulf the White House.
“We had a very, very successful meeting with the foreign minister of Russia; our fight is against ISIS,” Trump said a day after The
Washington Post reported that he revealed highly classified intelligence to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in an Oval Office session last week.
Already under fire over last week’s abrupt firing of the FBI director, James Comey, Trump faces criticism over claims he discussed counterterrorism in a way that would allow his Russian guests to trace secret intelligence sources and methods and potentially compromise critical sources of information on the Islamic State terror group.
The New York Times reported that Israel was the source of the intelligence in question, which had to do with plans by the Islamic State to use laptop computers as weapons and was so sensitive it had been withheld from allies and held close even within the U.S. government.
Trump, who will head to Israel as part of his first foreign trip as president this week, explained his rationale early Tuesday. “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 in a pair of tweets. “Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism.”
National security adviser H.R. McMaster said Tuesday that Trump’s discussion with Russian officials did not compromise any sources or methods. The exchange, he said, was “wholly appropriate to that conversation and is consistent with the routine sharing of information between the president and any leaders with whom he’s engaged.”
Though McMaster described the Post story as “false” Monday, he clarified Tuesday that “the premise of that article is false, that in any way the president had a conversation that was inappropriate or that resulted in any kind of lapse in national security.”
American presidents have the power to unilaterally disclose any material — even the most secret intelligence — without going through any formal process or worrying about prosecution. Though Trump is correct to say he has an “absolute right” to share any information he wants, experts say, it could risk allies’ trust in the U.S. ability to keep se- crets and might stop sharing valuable intelligence with their American counterparts.
Israeli officials had little public response. Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, said, “Israel has full confidence in our intelligence-sharing relationship with the United States and looks forward to deepening that relationship in the years ahead under President Trump.”
Though White House spokesman Sean Spicer would not com- ment on the Israel story, he did cite Dermer’s statement: “We appreciate the strong relationship that we have with Israel when it comes to intelligence sharing.”
Some lawmakers, including Republicans, said Trump’s purported talk about secret counterterrorism operations could have exposed sources trying to help the United States. It “sends a troubling signal to America’s allies and partners around the world and may impair their willingness to share intelligence with us in the future,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump misses the point when he cites the right to discuss sensitive information.
“Mr. President,” Schiff tweeted, “this isn’t about your ‘rights,’ but your responsibilities. You could jeopardize our sources, relationships and security.”
In a tweet, Trump protested news leaks about his administration. Trump said, “I have been asking Director Comey & others, from the beginning of my administration, to find the LEAKERS in the intelligence community.”
Lawmakers were disturbed that Trump would discuss any intelligence with officials from Russia, a country under investigation by U.S. authorities over allegations it interfered with last year’s presidential election by hacking Democratic organizations.
As Trump prepares for his trip to the Middle East and Europe, lawmakers from both parties demanded a full accounting of the conversation with the Russian diplomats.
“If the report is true, it is very disturbing,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denounced the Post story as “fake.” Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said, “We do not want to have anything to do with this nonsense.”
Republicans were frustrated by the onslaught of news about the White House.
“Obviously, they’re in a downward spiral right now,” said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “and they’ve got to figure out a way to come to grips with all that’s happening.”
“We had a very, very successful meeting with the foreign minister of Russia; our fight is against ISIS.” President Trump