Russia and Putin · First term · № 29
Shared classified intelligence with Russia's foreign minister and ambassador in the Oval Office
“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.”
- Said
- , Oval Office meeting with Sergey Lavrov and Sergey Kislyak (quote from Twitter, May 16, 2017)
- Subject
- Lavrov Oval Office meeting
- Type
- Intelligence and security
- Topic
- Foreign policy
- Era
- First term
What happened
On May 10, 2017, the day after he dismissed FBI Director James Comey, Trump met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office. The Washington Post reported on May 15 that he described details of an Islamic State threat involving laptop computers on aircraft, using intelligence from a U.S. partner that had not given permission to share it with Russia. National security adviser H.R. McMaster said the story 'as reported, is false' and that no intelligence sources or methods were discussed; Trump wrote the next day that he had an 'absolute right' to share the facts. Several outlets then reported that the intelligence came from Israel. The New York Times reported, citing a document summarizing the meeting, that Trump also told the Russians that Comey was 'a real nut job' and that firing him had taken off 'great pressure because of Russia'; the White House did not dispute that account. The Post noted that a president has broad authority to declassify information, making it unlikely the disclosure broke the law.
Sources
- Tweets of May 16, 2017
- Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister and ambassador
- Trump revealed intelligence secrets to Russians in Oval Office: officials
- Trump Says He Has 'Absolute Right' To Share Intelligence With Russia
- Trump to Russians in Oval Office: Firing 'nut job' Comey eased pressure, NYT reports