Israel was source of classified intel Trump gave to Russians by Bob Fredericks
http://nypost.com/2017/05/16/israel-was-source-of-classified-intel-trump-gave-to-russians/
The Israeli government was the source of the classified intelligence that President Trump shared with a pair of Russian officials in a meeting last week, multiple reports said Tuesday,
Citing a former official with knowledge of the matter, NBC News reported that Trump’s information came from America’s longstanding Mideast ally.
Trump and his national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, both defended his discussion with the Russians, saying that nothing inappropriate had been revealed.
McMaster said the president wasn’t aware where the information about ISIS threats to airliners originated or how it was gathered.
“The president wasn’t even aware where this information came from. He wasn’t briefed on the source or method of the information either,” said McMaster, who was in the Oval Office meeting with Trump and Russia’s ambassador and foreign minister.
He would not say whether the information Trump shared was classified, and offered a broad defense of the president during a White House press briefing.
The US Army general also slammed the Washington Post, which first reported the story in which sources alleged that Trump had endangered a foreign source by revealing the information.
“The premise of that article is false that in any way the president had a conversation that was inappropriate or that resulted in any kind of lapse in national security,” McMaster said.
“In the context of that discussion, what the president discussed with the foreign minister was wholly appropriate to that conversation and is consistent with the routine sharing of information between the president and any leaders with whom he’s engaged.”
There was no decision made in advance to release the information, he said. The president, he added, brought it up during the course of the conversation.
The White House alerted the NSA and CIA about the disclosure “out of an abundance of caution.”
McMaster said the “real issue” was that “our national security has been put at risk by those violating confidentiality and those releasing information to the press.”
Trump took to Twitter to defend himself over the sitdown with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
“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,” he wrote before going after the leaks himself.
“I have been asking Director Comey & others, from the beginning of my administration, to find the LEAKERS in the intelligence community,” he griped.
Later Tuesday, CIA Director Mike Pompeo was set to brief the House Intelligence Committee about assorted issues involving Russia, including Trump’s disclosure.
Lawmakers quickly reacted, with Democrats slamming Trump and even some Republicans questioning his judgment.
“I think we could do with a little less drama from the White House on a lot of things,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told Bloomberg Business TV, “so that we can focus on our agenda, which is deregulations, tax reform, repealing and replacing ObamaCare.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said the White House needed to brief the Senate Intelligence Committee over the latest Russia story.
“Although the president has the legal authority to disclose classified information, it would be very troubling if he did share such sensitive reporting with the Russians. The Senate Intelligence Committee should be briefed on this important issue immediately,” Collins, a committee member, said in a statement.
Danny Yatom, former director of Israel’s spy agency Mossad, told the Jerusalem Post that it would be a “grave violation” of intelligence-sharing protocols if sensitive information was turned over because it “could lead to harm to the source.”
Yatom, who spoke before Israel was identified as the source, warned that Russia could share the information with Syria and Iran, countries hostile to the Jewish state.
“If someone gives the US very sensitive information, it is prohibited to give the information to a third party — for sure not to Russia who has ties with Iran and Syria,” he said.
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