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Donald Trump's disclosure of classified information to Russia


President Donald Trump discussed highly classified intelligence during a May 10, 2017, Oval Office meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, providing sufficient details that could be used by the Russians to deduce the source of the information and the manner in which it was collected, according to current and former government officials. The disclosure was first reported in The Washington Post on May 15, 2017. White House staff initially denied the report, but the following day Trump defended the disclosure, stating that he has the "absolute right" to "share" intelligence with Russia.

It was later reported that Israel was the source of the intelligence. Israel did not confirm or deny the report but released a statement stating full confidence in the intelligence sharing relationships with the United States.Ynetnews, an Israeli online news site, reported on January 12 that U.S. intelligence advised Israeli intelligence officers to be cautious about sharing information with the incoming Trump administration, until the possibility of Russian influence over Trump, suggested by Christopher Steele's report (commonly referred as the Donald Trump–Russia dossier), has been fully investigated. U.S. officials were concerned that the information could be passed to Russia, and then from Russia to Iran. Several Israeli intelligence officials confirmed privately that Trump's disclosure of the intel to Russia "confirmed their worst fears" about Trump, that the disclosure jeopardizes Israel's "unique" intelligence-sharing arrangement with United States and that Israeli officials were "boiling mad".

The report was described as "shocking" and "horrifying" by some commentators and officials. According to current and former U.S. officials interviewed by ABC News, Trump's disclosure endangered the life of a spy placed by Israel in ISIL-held territory in Syria. The classified information Trump shared came from a source described as the most valuable of any current sources on any current external plotting, according to The Wall Street Journal.


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