President Trump confirms, defends sharing highly classified information with the Russians


On Tuesday, President Trump took to Twitter to defend his decision to go "off script" and reveal highly classified intelligence information to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in a meeting last week:
Notably, Trump's top aides and his national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, had directly denied the reports Monday night. "I was in the room. It didn't happen," McMaster told the press.
The president, unlike even senior administration officials, has the ability to share classified information at his own discretion. "We certainly don't want any president to leak classified information, but the president does have the right to do that," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Critics of Trump's decision say that the issue is not the legality of his actions but the fact that he jeopardized a valuable espionage source by revealing the highly classified information to the Russians; the source was so sensitive that it had reportedly not been shared even with American allies.
A former U.S. official who is "close to current administration officials" told The Washington Post that Trump "seems to be very reckless and doesn't grasp the gravity of the things he's dealing with."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin on August 1, with rates ranging from 25% to 40% on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Trump U-turns on weapons to Ukraine
Speed Read Unhappy with Putin, Trump decides the US will go back to arming Ukraine against Russia's attacks
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin on August 1, with rates ranging from 25% to 40% on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration