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.
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.
-
President Trump: ‘waging war’ on Chicago
Talking Point Federal agents are carrying out ‘increasingly aggressive’ immigration raids – but have sanctuary cities like Chicago brought it on themselves?
-
Sudoku medium: October 18, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Sudoku hard: October 18, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified files
Speed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operations
Speed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rules
Speed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Act
speed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young Republicans
Speed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
-
Trump ties $20B Argentina bailout to Milei votes
speed read Trump will boost Argentina’s economy — if the country’s right-wing president wins upcoming elections