Nat'l Security Adviser Defends Trump On Sharing Of Information
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) - The White House is in damage control mode after a bombshell report in the Washington Post that President Donald Trump shared classified information with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during an Oval Office meeting last week.
Tuesday morning President Trump took to Twitter to defend his actions.
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....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 16, 2017
...to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 16, 2017
At a press briefing on Tuesday, President Trump's National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster defended the President's actions.
"It was the impression of all us that were in the meeting that what was shared was wholly appropriate given the purpose of that conversation and the purpose of what the President was trying to achieve through that meeting," said McMaster.
McMaster would not say in the information that President Trump shared with the Russian officials was classified. He did say that the Post story was based on leaked information combined with other information which resulted in insinuations about sources and methods.
"I want to make it clear to everybody that the President, in no way, compromised any sources or methods in the course of this conversation," said McMaster.
He added that Pres. Trump's conversation with the Russians was consistent with "routine sharing of information between the president" and leaders.
Current and former U.S. officials reportedly told Post that the President "went off script and began describing details about an Islamic State terrorist threat related to the use of laptop computers on aircraft."
Sources told CBS News "something inappropriate" was discussed. The damage was so serious that White House officials reportedly rushed to warn the CIA and NSA to contain the damage.
One official told CBS News that the sensitive intelligence concerned the makeup of a possible ISIS laptop bomb and new calculations of its explosive power. The classified details, which came from a U.S. partner, are reportedly so secret that they were not shared with close American allies and were restricted in the U.S. government.
"It could undermine an operation that could be saving lives, and it undermines the trust that we would have with our allies," said House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
"It's disturbing and let's find out what the details are," said Sen. John McCain, R-AZ.
On the campaign trail, then-candidate Trump repeatedly criticized Hillary Clinton, who the FBI said mishandled classified information on her private email server.
Experts point out that President Trump has the authority to declassify information, so it's unlikely that his alleged disclosure broke the law.
"We can't have someone in the Oval Office who doesn't understand the meaning of the word confidential or classified," Trump said on the trail.
On Tuesday, the President is scheduled to meet with the Prime Minister of Turkey, topping the agenda are ways to further global cooperation to confront terrorism.
