Donald Trump admits giving 'facts' to Russia amid claims he leaked state secrets to Moscow

Donald Trump meets Sergei Lavrov last week (AFP)
Donald Trump meets Sergei Lavrov last week (AFP)

Donald Trump has admitted sharing some “facts” with Russia as the fallout from claims he handed Moscow state secrets continues to envelope his presidency.

His statement appears to confirm bombshell reports that he handed over highly classified, “code-word” information to Russian envoys during a meeting last week.

But National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster has since come to The President’s defence, saying he ‘in no way compromised sources.’

On Monday, two US officials said the US President disclosed highly classified information to Russia’s foreign minister about a planned Isis operation, plunging the White House into yet another controversy just months into Trump’s short tenure in office.

The intelligence, shared at a meeting last week with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak, was apparently supplied by a US ally in the fight against the militant group.

Although the White House declared the allegations, first reported by the Washington Post, incorrect.

Sharing secrets provided by an ally with another country without permission would be a significant breach of protocol.

And early on Tuesday morning, Mr Trump took to Twitter to directly respond to the claims for the first time:

“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. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism.”

Russia has also responded to the report, branding them “fake” news, according to the Interfax news agency.

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman also advised that people don’t read American newspapers.

Spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Maria Zakharova said she had received dozens of messages asking about the reports. “Guys, have you been reading American newspapers again?” she wrote on her Facebook page. “You shouldn’t read them. You can put them to various uses, but you shouldn’t read them. Lately it’s become not only harmful, but dangerous too.”

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The reports have further damaged Mr Trump’s Presidency, with an increasing number of supporters turning their backs on him.

A television plays a news report on Donald Trump's recent Oval Office meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (Reuters)
A television plays a news report on Donald Trump’s recent Oval Office meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (Reuters)

Senior Republican Senator Bob Corker said they were “very, very troubling”:

“The White House has got to do something soon to bring itself under control and in order. Obviously they’re in a downward spiral right now and they’ve got to figure out a way to come to grips with all that’s happening.”

The White House moved quickly to deny the claims.

“The story that came out tonight as reported is false,” H.R. McMaster, Trump’s national security adviser, told reporters at the White House, adding that the leaders reviewed a range of common threats including to civil aviation.

“At no time were intelligence sources or methods discussed. The president did not disclose any military operations that were not already publicly known…I was in the room. It didn’t happen,” he said.

The White House also released a statement from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who said the Oval Office meeting focussed on counterterrorism, and from Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell, who called the Washington Post story false.

Still, the news triggered concern in Congress.

The Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin, called Trump’s conduct “dangerous” and “reckless”.


SECRET COMPARTMENT

The latest controversy came as Trump’s administration reels from the fallout over his abrupt dismissal of former FBI Director James Comey and amid congressional calls for an independent investigation into allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

One of the officials said the intelligence discussed by Trump in his meeting with Lavrov was classified “Top Secret” and held in a secure “compartment” to which only a handful of intelligence officials have access.

After Trump disclosed the information, a move described as spontaneous, officials immediately called the CIA and the National Security Agency, both of which have agreements with a number of allied intelligence services around the world, and informed them what had happened.

While the president has the authority to disclose even the most highly classified information at will, in this case he did so without consulting the ally that provided it, which threatens to jeopardise a long-standing intelligence-sharing agreement, the U.S. officials said.

CHAOTIC FEW MONTHS

Since taking office in January, Trump has careened from controversy to controversy, complaining on the first day about news coverage of his inauguration crowds; charging his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, with wiretapping; and just last week firing the FBI director who was overseeing an investigation into potential ties between Trump’s presidential campaign and the Russian government.

Trump, a Republican who has called allegations of links between his campaign team and Russia a “total scam,” sharply criticized his 2016 election rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, for her handling of classified information as secretary of state, when she used a private email server.

The FBI concluded that no criminal charges against Clinton were warranted, but Comey said she and her colleagues had been “careless” with classified information.

‘NO FILTER’

In his conversations with the Russian officials, Trump appeared to be boasting about his knowledge of the looming threats, telling them he was briefed on “great intel every day,” an official with knowledge of the exchange said, according to the Post.

Some U.S. officials have told Reuters they have been concerned about disclosing highly classified intelligence to Trump.

One official, who requested anonymity to discuss dealing with the president, said last month: “He has no filter; it’s in one ear and out the mouth.”

One of the officials with knowledge of Trump’s meeting with the Russian called the timing of the disclosure “particularly unfortunate,” as the President prepares for a White House meeting on Tuesday with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, an ally in the fight against Islamic State.

Trump’s first foreign trip also begins later this week and includes a stop in Saudi Arabia, another Islamic State foe, and a May 25 NATO meeting in Brussels attended by other important U.S. allies. He also has stops planned in Israel and the Vatican.

The president’s trip and latest uproar over his meeting with Russian officials come amid rumours that he might shake-up his senior staff in a bid to refocus his administration.