Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Monday, May 15, 2017

BREAKING: Trump 'shared classified information with Russia'


  • May 16, 2017  00H49  GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME
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  • From the sectionUS & Canada
Trump jokes with Lavrov and ambassador Sergei KislyakImage copyrightAFP
Image captionMr Trump (centre) jokes with Mr Lavrov (left) and Ambassador Sergei Kislyak
by Rachel Rubin and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, New York
President Donald Trump revealed highly classified information about so-called Islamic State to the Russian foreign minister, officials have told US media.
The information came from a partner of the US which had not given the US permission to share it with Russia, says the Washington Post.
It happened when Mr Trump met Sergei Lavrov in the Oval Office last week, says the paper.
But a senior security official has said the report is not true.
"This story is false," said Dina Powell, deputy national security adviser for strategy, who was in the meeting. "The president only discussed the common threats that both countries faced."
The Trump campaign's alleged links to Moscow have dogged his presidency, and are part of several investigations.
But the president has dismissed it as "fake news".
During the election campaign, Mr Trump repeatedly criticised his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, for how she handled classified material.

A knife in the back? Analysis by Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington

The fallout from this story could be enormous and not just because there is a boundless trove of Republican quotes over the past year - directed at Mrs Clinton - about the utmost importance of protecting top-secret information.
There is the Russian connection, of course.
The FBI is currently investigating the Trump campaign for possible ties to Russian interests. Meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak featured prominently in the firing of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and Attorney General Jeff Sessions' recusal on Russian investigation matters.
Then there is the question of whether US allies will be more reluctant to share sensitive intelligence information with the US, lest the president put sources at risk.
This will only stoke accusations by Trump critics that the president is undisciplined and inexperienced in the delicacies of foreign policy, where his shoot-from-the hip style presents an ongoing danger.
Finally, it is worth remembering the simmering feud Mr Trump has had with the US intelligence community. It took less than a week for this highly embarrassing story to leak. If the revelation was a knife twisted in the president's back, it is not hard to suspect where it came from.

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