White House and National Security Council spokesman Mike Anton insisted Tuesday morning that President Trump was not confirming that he shared classified information with Russian officials when he tweeted that he'd "wanted to share with Russia" information about "terrorism and airline flight safety":
CBS News' Mark Knoller did not report whether Anton — notorious for his essay last year declaring "2016 is the Flight 93 election: Charge the cockpit or you die" — provided an explanation for how Trump's tweet defending his "absolute right" to share information did not amount to a confirmation. The president does have the legal right to unilaterally declassify information.
Trump's top aides as well as his national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, have denied The Washington Post's report that Trump shared highly classified information during a meeting at the White House last week with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Trump's tweets Tuesday morning came after his staff's ardent denials Monday evening.
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.
-
How coupling up became cringeTalking Point For some younger women, going out with a man – or worse, marrying one – is distinctly uncool
-
The rapid-fire brilliance of Tom StoppardIn the Spotlight The 88-year-old was a playwright of dazzling wit and complex ideas
-
How your household budget could look in 2026The Explainer The government is trying to balance the nation’s books but energy bills and the cost of food could impact your finances
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
-
Hegseth blames ‘fog of war’ for potential war crimespeed read ‘I did not personally see survivors,’ Hegseth said at a Cabinet meeting
-
Canada joins EU’s $170B SAFE defense fundspeed read This makes it the first non-European Union country in the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative
-
Appeals court disqualifies US Attorney Alina HabbaSpeed Read The former personal attorney to President Donald Trump has been unlawfully serving as US attorney for New Jersey, the ruling says
-
White House says admiral ordered potential war crimeSpeed Read The Trump administration claims Navy Vice Adm. Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley ordered a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat, not Pete Hegseth
-
Honduras votes amid Trump push, pardon vowspeed read President Trump said he will pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who is serving 45 years for drug trafficking
-
Congress seeks answers in ‘kill everybody’ strike reportSpeed Read Lawmakers suggest the Trump administration’s follow-up boat strike may be a war crime
