The New York Times has reported that Israel was the source of highly classified intelligence that President Trump reportedly disclosed to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at the White House last week. At a Tuesday news conference, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster sought to minimize damage from Trump’s disclosure.
Jonathan Karl: “A yes-or-no question here: Did the President share classified information with the Russians in that meeting?”
H.R. McMaster: “And as I mentioned already, we don’t say what’s classified, what’s not classified. What I will tell you again is that what the president shared was wholly appropriate.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered this morning to share with the U.S. Congress a recording of the Oval Office meeting between Trump, Foreign Minister Lavrov and Ambassador Kislyak. It’s not clear whether such a recording exists. During the meeting, the Trump administration barred all U.S. media while allowing a photographer from the Russian state media agency TASS inside the Oval Office.