Trump 'shared secret information about IS' with Russian officials

By doing so, Trump jeopardized cooperation from an ally familiar with the inner workings of the Islamic State group.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, a Republican, called the reports "worrisome" and "troubling", and told reporters that the Trump White House "has got to do something soon to bring itself under control and order".

USA officials have told Reuters they have always been concerned about disclosing highly classified intelligence to Trump.

Two former officials knowledgeable of the situation confirmed to CNN that the main points of the Post story are accurate: The President shared classified information with the Russian foreign minister. Tillerson said the meeting focused on counterterrorism. "The President only discussed the common threats that both countries faced", in a statement provided by Spicwer.

The report claims that Trump relayed sensitive details gathered through an intelligence-sharing arrangement with an allied nation.

As Trump prepares for his first foreign trip for the Middle East and Europe, lawmakers from both parties demanded a full accounting of the conversation with the Russian diplomats that some feared could lead to exposure of confidential informants helping US intelligence officials counter the Islamic State.

The Washington Post reported Monday that Trump divulged highly classified "code-word" information that could enable the Russians to trace the source of the intelligence.

According to Panetta, the ally who provided the information that was reportedly relayed to the Russians could cut off any type of intelligence provided to the USA in the future. "I think any president needs to be careful", said Sen.

Unfortunately for the United States, his apparently willful sowing of confusion and outright blunders, both of which hold potentially dire consequences, are a threat to the country's security and to its most important alliances.

"Absolutely not. I did not and I would not leak classified information", she told Cooper.

The State Department says Syrian President Bashar Assad has constructed a crematory at a military prison outside Damascus to hide evidence of thousands of executions a year.

The New York Times also noted that "Trump's disclosure does not appear to have been illegal - the president has the power to declassify nearly anything".

Beyond jeopardizing the trust of key allies, lawmakers and intelligence officials warn that disclosing this type of information could impact United States efforts to counter an ISIS plot to place explosives in laptops and other electronic devices to evade airport security screening methods.

Trump's tweets did not say whether he revealed classified information about the Islamic State group, as published reports have said and as a US official told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Yates told Cooper that she expected the White House to act urgently on information that she had given the administration that Flynn had been compromised by his contact with Russian officials prior to Trump's inauguration. Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was sacked after he misled Vice-President Mike Pence about conversations he had with Kisylak.

The inspector general of the Department of Defense has opened an investigation into whether former national security adviser Michael Flynn reported money he received for a speaking appearance in Russian Federation.

Reporters started gathering in the hallway outside Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office right after the Post story broke. He also has stops planned in Israel and the Vatican.

Donald Trump's decision to give Russian officials high-level intelligence information was "wholly appropriate" and did not endanger any intelligence sources, national security adviser H.R. McMaster said at a White House press conference Tuesday. However, The Post story and other subsequent reports didn't say that it was sources, methods or military operations discussed, but simply classified information.

"I was in the room, it didn't happen", McMaster told reporters. He departed without taking questions. He said Mr Trump discussed a range of subjects with the Russians, including "common efforts and threats regarding counter-terrorism". Officials anxious that this information could lead to the discovery of the methods and sources involved, but it didn't say Trump discussed them. They said it was considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the US government.

The post Russia Denies Donald Trump Leaked Classified Intel in White House Meeting appeared first on SIGNAL.

The Washington Post reported on Monday that the revelation put a source of intelligence on the Islamic State at risk.

"As President I wanted to share with Russian Federation (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety".

"Even if President Trump unwittingly blew a highly classified code-word source to the Russians, that would be risky enough". "If the President outed a highly classified code-word source intentionally, that would be even more unsafe".

Reaction from Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees was full-throated.