Trump Says He Has ‘Absolute Right’ to Share Info With Russia
President Donald Trump is using Twitter to defend his sharing of information with the Russians.
Trump says he wanted to share with Russia “facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety.” He notes that as president, he has an “absolute right” to do this.
The Washington Post reported Monday that Trump divulged highly classified “code word” information that could enable the Russians to trace the source of the intelligence.
Trump added a line in his tweet suggesting why he did it: “Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism.”
‘Yet another fake’
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesman has denied reports that President Donald Trump revealed classified information to senior officials during the Russian minister’s visit to the Oval Office last week.
The Washington Post reported on Monday that the revelation put a source of intelligence on the Islamic State at risk.
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, on Facebook on Tuesday described the reports as “yet another fake.” The reports came several days after the White House faced criticism for a possible security breach after it allowed a Russian news service photographer into the Oval Office to snap photos of Trump with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak last week.
AP
