National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster held a press briefing at the White House on Tuesday, a day after the Washington Post and other media outlets reported that President Donald Trump revealed highly classified information during a meeting last week with Russian diplomats.
You can watch a replay of the briefing above.
“I stand by my statement that I made yesterday. What I was saying is the premise of that article was false,” McMaster said at the briefing. “What the president discussed with the (Russian 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 is engaged.”
McMaster said he would not discuss whether the information was classified, and said the true risk to national security was caused by those who leaked the classified information to the media.
“We don’t say what’s classified, what’s not classified,” McMaster said. “What the president said was wholly appropriate. The president in no way compromised any sources or methods in the course of this conversation. I think national security is put at risk by this leak and leaks like this. I think it’s important to investigate these sort of things and to make sure we have trust organizations across our government that allows for the free sharing of information and collaboration.”
The White House said Monday night that McMaster would be joining Press Secretary Sean Spicer for a 1:30 p.m. briefing, but those plans changed Tuesday morning. Spicer will now only be holding an off-camera “gaggle” with the White House press at 1:30 p.m.
General McMaster was previously scheduled to brief the press prior to the Russia meeting report. He is expected to be discussing the president’s upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia and several other foreign countries, which he and other officials will be leaving for on Friday, Spicer said at his Monday briefing.
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Sources told the Post Trump disclosed information to Russia’s foreign minister and ambassador about the Islamic State, jeopardizing a critical source of intelligence on ISIS.
Trump revealed “code-word information” and “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our allies,” the source told the Post.
According to the Post, Trump revealed the information during the meeting while appearing to boast about his insider knowledge of a threat to the Western world from ISIS involving the potential use of laptops to conceal explosives on airplanes. “I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel everyday,” Trump told the Russian ambassador, according to the Post. Trump then revealed aspects of the threat that the U.S. has learned through espionage capabilities of a key partner. As president, Trump is allowed to declassify information, the Post reports.
McMaster was sent out to make a carefully worded and brief statement to the press about the Post report.
“There is nothing the president takes more seriously than the security of the American people. The story that came out tonight as reported is false,” McMaster told reporters outside the White House. “The president and the foreign minister reviewed a range of common threats to our two countries, including threats to civil aviation. At no time, at no time, were intelligence sources or methods discussed. And the president did not disclose any military operations that were not already publicly known.”
McMaster continued, “Two other senior officials who were present, including the Secretary of State, remember the meeting the same way and have said so. Their on-the-record accounts should outweigh anonymous sources. And I was in the room, it didn’t happen.”
McMaster did not take questions after reading the statement.
The White House and State Department had already denied the report in written statements. The Washington Post broke the story, citing current and former U.S. officials as sources, and the New York Times and Buzzfeed News later confirmed the report, though it is unclear if their sources differ from those who spoke to the Post. CNN and Reuters also later confirmed the story.
“During President Trump’s meeting with Foreign Minister Lavrov a broad range of subjects were discussed among which were common efforts and threats regarding counter-terrorism,” Tillerson said. “During that exchange the nature of specific threats were discussed, but they did not discuss sources, methods or military operations.”
Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell said in a statement, “This story is false. The president only discussed the common threats that both countries faced.”
And President Trump himself took to Twitter Tuesday morning to defend his actions:
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.
I have been asking Director Comey & others, from the beginning of my administration, to find the LEAKERS in the intelligence community…..
