President Donald J. Trump defended his right to share information relating to "terrorism and airline flight safety" (NYT) with Russia in a Thursday morning tweet. The statement follows a series of media reports saying Trump disclosed highly classified information from an unspecified Middle Eastern ally to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak last week. Former and current U.S. government officials said Trump shared information with Russian officials about a plot by the self-proclaimed Islamic State that was considered so sensitive (NYT) it was not shared with allies nor widely inside the U.S. government. Russia's foreign ministry (Reuters) called the reports "fake." Trump has broad presidential authority to declassify information, making it unlikely that his revelations are illegal (WaPo). Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Corker said the Trump administration is "in a downward spiral" (FT).
ANALYSIS
"The
revelation came at a sensitive time for the president, who less
than a week ago cited 'this Russia thing with Trump' in explaining why he
fired FBI Director James B. Comey, who was leading an investigation into
Russia’s interference with the 2016 election. Investigators are already
probing possible coordination between Trump's campaign and the Russian
government, and the president has struggled to shake the issue as he tries
to advance his legislative agenda," Elise Viebeck, Mike DeBonis, and
Ed O'Keefe write for the Washington Post.
"If
Trump has indeed compromised a source of information, it is not merely a betrayal
of an ally's trust: It is an act that will jeopardize a whole range of relationships. After all,
the Director of Central Intelligence cannot very well say, 'Don’t worry, we
won’t share that with the president'," Eliot A. Cohen writes for the Atlantic.
"The
information in question is of particular significance both because the
Russians might be able to infer sources and methods,
notwithstanding General McMaster's careful statement that sources and
methods were not 'discussed,' and because it was shared with the United
States by a foreign partner. Indeed, the Post story discusses
the concern of U.S. officials that the Russians might inferentially
'identify the U.S. ally or intelligence capability involved,' and one
official is quoted as saying that 'Russia could identify our sources or
techniques' based on what was disclosed," writes the Lawfare blog.
