Did Donald Trump confirm existence of a covert CIA programme on Twitter?
Donald Trump has frequently railed against those leaking information, especially intelligence material, to the media.
Now, however, it appears the president himself has inadvertently confirmed the existence of a covert CIA programme.
Mr Trump issued a series of tweets attacking the Washington Post on Monday evening, including one that referred to a story about the termination of US efforts to aid rebels fighting to oust Syria's President Bashar Assad.
The Amazon Washington Post fabricated the facts on my ending massive, dangerous, and wasteful payments to Syrian rebels fighting Assad.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2017
"The Amazon Washington Post fabricated the facts on my ending massive, dangerous, and wasteful payments to Syrian rebels fighting Assad," Mr Trump said, days after the newspaper had claimed the president was axing a programme established by Barack Obama in 2013.
It was a move long sought for by Russia, which saw the anti-Assad programme as an assault on its interests.
Although the programme had been widely reported, its existence was understood to be officially still classified.
If the media reports are true, the President of the United States just confirmed a CIA covert action program. On Twitter. https://t.co/fEmuqHDWN9
— Ned Price (@nedprice) July 25, 2017
"If the media reports are true, the President of the United States just confirmed a CIA covert action program. On Twitter," said Ned Price, a former CIA employee.
CIA: We can neither confirm nor deny any covert program.
Trump: That's right cuz I ended it!
CIA: ����♂️ https://t.co/DBrNak0zg7— Jermaine Spradley (@MrSpradley) July 25, 2017
FYI this was a "covert" CIA program. Until now, apparently: https://t.co/1ZGhKLlraghttps://t.co/v8CqjJCJ18
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 25, 2017
Trump confirms covert CIA program on Twitter https://t.co/NaJHC5JxBq
— Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) July 25, 2017
Today in Trump
-refers to "17 years of Obamacare"
-boasts of Electoral College win to Boy Scouts
-confirms covert CIA program
-it's Monday— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) July 25, 2017
President apparently confirming existence of US covert program to aid anti-Assad rebels in Syria right here on Twitter https://t.co/NQy1BqLAkB
— Julie Davis (@juliehdavis) July 25, 2017
US officials told the newspaper in a story published July 19 that ending the secret programme was related to Mr Trump's concerns about re-establishing a working relationship with Russia.
Mr Trump is reported to have made the decision nearly a month ago, after an Oval Office meeting with national security adviser H.R. McMaster and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
Russia long saw the anti-Assad programme as an assault on its interests. Ending the plan, in addition to appeasing Russian President Vladimir Putin, is also an acknowledgment of the US's limited ability to unseat the Syrian president.
Until Moscow intervened militarily on behalf of the Syrian government in 2015, the US-backed rebels had been making major gains.