Whoops! I did it again. (Chris Kleponis-Pool/Getty Images)

Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian diplomats

President Donald Trump disclosed “highly classified information” during a meeting with Russian officials last week, according to The Washington Post. 

• The details had not even been shared with American allies, and the disclosure could jeopardize a crucial intelligence-sharing relationship.

The revelations raise new questions about the already controversial meeting of Trump, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Sergey Kislyak, who is the Russian ambassador to the U.S. While such a disclosure is likely not illegal, it raises concerns about both the consequences of Trump’s ad hoc style when interacting with foreign leaders and U.S. coordination with other nations on sensitive foreign policy issues.

The president’s disclosures to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in their Oval Office meeting last week jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State — an information-sharing arrangement considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the U.S. government, current and former U.S. officials said. Trump appeared to be boasting of the “great intel” he receives when he described a looming terror threat, according to an official with knowledge of the exchange.
Trump told Foreign Minister  Lavrov and Ambassador  Kislyak details about an ISIS terrorist plots involving laptops on airplanes, and gave away the city in ISIS territory where a US intel-sharing ally found out about the threat.

resident Trump met with Sergey V. Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, in the White House last week. American journalists were barred, but Russia released photographs. CreditRussian Foreign Ministry

"Trump went on to discuss aspects of the threat that the United States learned only through the espionage capabilities of a key partner. He did not reveal the specific intelligence-gathering method, but he described how the Islamic State was pursuing elements of a specific plot and how much harm such an attack could cause under varying circumstances. Most alarmingly, officials said, Trump revealed the city in the Islamic State's territory where the U.S. intelligence partner detected the threat.

"The partner had not given the United States permission to share the material with Russia, and officials said Trump's decision to do so endangers cooperation from an ally that has access to the inner workings of the Islamic State. After Trump's meeting, senior White House officials took steps to contain the damage, placing calls to the CIA and the National Security Agency.

" 'This is code-word information,' said a U.S. official familiar with the matter, using terminology that refers to one of the highest classification levels used by American spy agencies. Trump 'revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.' "

So this is not intelligence that the United States gathered or owned. It wasn't up to the United States to share. And so doing so really jeopardizes that relationship. It potentially damages trust that's critical in these kinds of arrangements. And I think that's one of the really big worries here...And in this case it's important, because this is apparently an ongoing stream of intelligence into Islamic state plotting. I mean, what could be more important?"

National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster called the Washington Post story 'false', which claimed Trump leaked 'highly classified' information to the Russians during an Oval Office meeting last week

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4509414/Republicans-speak-latest-Trump-reports.html#ixzz4hDdrJ0Qc
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VOX

• This revelation by the Post comes after a week of speculation and concern over Trump’s willingness to allow a Russian state media photographer into the Oval Office as part of the visit. Counterintelligence experts said that was a needless security breach that could’ve let the photographer, a Russian government employee, install a listening device or other surveillance gear in the White House. [Washington Post / Carol Morello and Greg Miller]
• But it appears the more imminent security risk was just Trump running his mouth.
• How bad is this? In the words of national security law expert Benjamin Wittes: “This story is nauseating. You might have to work with natsec people to understand how bad it is, but it's horrible. Really really bad.” [Benjamin Wittes,Senior Fellow at Brookings. Editor in Chief: Lawfare  ]
• So is this all evidence of US-Russian collusion? Maybe, but again, the Post story suggests that maybe Trump is just extremely insecure and wanted to impress his guests. He reportedly told Lavrov and Kislyak, “I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel every day.”
• And we can’t say we didn’t see this coming. Here's a Politico story from the day after inauguration, on intelligence community worries about Trump leaking to Russia: "Trump’s off-the-cuff communication style also alarms observers in the U.S. and abroad who worry he may, inadvertently or out of bravado, reveal classified information." [Politico / Nahal Toosi​]

The latest reports of Trump revealing classified information to the Russians comes just ahead of his first foreign trip as president. He's set to depart on Friday, traveling to Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Vatican,..and will attend a NATO meeting in Brussels, Belgium, and the G7 meeting in Italy.

"The Washington Post is withholding most plot details, including the name of the city, at the urging of officials who warned that revealing them would jeopardize important intelligence capability

Bob Corker, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, was one of the first Republicans to speak out about reports Trump shared classified information with Russia

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4509414/Republicans-speak-latest-Trump-reports.html#ixzz4hDdPM7vK
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Lawmakers express shock, concern about Oval Office disclosure.

The disclosure is likely to raise questions about the president’s handling of classified information and could also increase pressure on investigators looking into his possible ties to the Kremlin. “The chaos” in the administration “creates a worrisome environment,” said Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.