Trump 'shared classified information with Russia'
President Donald Trump revealed highly classified
information about so-called Islamic State (IS) to Russia's foreign minister, US
media report.
The information, related to the use of laptops on aircraft,
came from a partner of the US which had not given permission for it to be
shared with Russia, says
the Washington Post.
Mr Trump received Sergei Lavrov in the Oval Office last
week.
National Security Adviser HR McMaster dismissed the
reporting as "false".
The Trump campaign's alleged links to Moscow have dogged his
presidency and are part of several investigations.
But the president has dismissed such allegations as
"fake news".
During the election campaign, Mr Trump repeatedly criticised
his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, for how she handled sensitive
material.
What actually happened?
In a conversation with the Russian foreign minister and
Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak in
the Oval Office, the president revealed details that could lead to the exposure
of a source of information, officials told the Washington Post and the New York
Times.
The discussion was about an IS plot. The president
reportedly went "off-script", revealing specifics of the plot,
thought to centre on the use of laptop computers on aircraft, and the city from
which that threat had been detected.
The intelligence
disclosed came from a US ally and was considered too sensitive to share with
other US allies, the papers report.
Others
present realised the mistake and scrambled to "contain the damage" by
informing the CIA and the National Security Agency (NSA), says the Post.
Mr
Trump's actions would not be illegal, as the US president has the authority to
declassify information.
The
meeting came a day after Mr Trump fired his FBI chief, James Comey, sparking
criticism that he had done so because the FBI was investigating alleged Russian
ties.
What
has the White House said?
National
Security Adviser HR McMaster told reporters that the story, "as
reported", was "false".
"The
president and foreign minister reviewed a range of common threats to our two
countries, including threats to civil aviation," he said.
"At no time - at no time - were intelligence sources or
methods discussed. And the president did not disclose any military operations
that were not already publicly known."
In a statement, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson echoed the
point that "the nature of specific threats were discussed, but they did
not discuss sources, methods or military operations".
The Washington Post, which first broke the story, said this
did not amount to a denial.
Speaking to the BBC, reporter Greg Jaffe said the Post's
story made it clear the president did not disclose sources or methods.
But he added: "Our story says that the nature of the
information provided would have allowed the Russians to 'reverse engineer' to
discover the sources and methods. He said so much that they could figure it
out."
On
its website, the Washington Post said Mr McMaster "seems to
be saying that the thing that didn't happen is something The Post never
actually reported".
Golden rule: Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent
Despite the denials issued by the White House that any
actual intelligence sources were revealed to the Russians, whatever was said in
that Oval Office meeting was enough to alarm certain officials and, reportedly,
to alert the CIA and NSA.
They in turn will have needed to warn the country that
supplied the intelligence. There is a golden rule in the world of espionage
that when one government supplies intelligence to another it must not be passed
on to a third party without permission of the original supplier. The reason is
simple: it could put the lives of their human informants at risk.
In this case it appears to relate to the discovery of plans
by jihadists in Syria to devise a way of smuggling viable explosive devices on
board a plane inside a laptop computer. Given the well-publicised ban on
laptops in cabins on certain Middle Eastern routes, whoever revealed that
information is unlikely to be still in place.
Levels of US classification - from lowest to highest
- Confidential: Information that reasonably could be expected to cause damage to the national security if disclosed to unauthorised sources. Most military personnel have this level of clearance
- Secret: The same wording in the first sentence above, except it substitutes serious damage
- Top Secret: Again, the same wording except to substitute exceptionally grave damage
- Codeword: Adds a second level of clearance to Top Secret, so that only those cleared with the codeword can see it. Administered by the CIA. The material discussed by Mr Trump with the Russians was under a codeword, sources told the Washington Post
What has the reaction been?
The Senate's second-highest ranked Democrat, Dick Durbin,
said Mr Trump's actions appeared to be "dangerous" and
reckless".
A spokesman for Paul Ryan, Republican speaker of the House
of Representatives, said: "We have no way to know what was said, but
protecting our nation's secrets is paramount.
"The speaker hopes for a full explanation of the facts
from the administration."
The Republican head of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, Bob Corker, said the story was "very, very troubling" if
true.
"Obviously they're in a downward spiral right now and
they've got to figure out a way to come to grips" with it, he told
Bloomberg.
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