After Railing Against Leaks, Trump Tops Them All

Lavrov and Kislyak in the Oval Office
The classified information that President Trump divulged to the Russian officials he had invited into the Oval Office has been characterized as the most valuable source from which to learn of external plots by ISIS, chief among them their intent to bring down commercial airliners using explosive devices. The Washington Post broke the story, saying that what Trump leaked was "code-word information", meaning information so sensitive that code words are used to speak of it. This particular channel is an intelligence-sharing arrangement about which "details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the U.S. government", officials told the Post. Endangering the source itself, Trump even identified the city in the Islamic State’s sprawl from which the report of the threat came.

The president, who repeatedly excoriated the intelligence agencies for concluding that Russia was behind the hacks into our election, now bragged to the Russians that “I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel every day”, according to someone who was in the room.

It was disappointing to see Gen. H. R. McMaster, a top U. S. combat commander and now national security adviser replacing the cashiered Flynn, succumb to the same dissimulation that has so marred Trump White House messaging. He evaded the Post story, denying and calling "false" what the paper had not reported. "It didn't happen", he said only to then have to walk it back the next day, undercut by Trump admitting he'd shared information, tweeting that he had an “absolute right” to do so. McMaster was now left to say repeatedly that what Trump had told the Russians was "wholly appropriate".

Trump's tweet of "absolute right" was quickly echoed by his defenders, as if judgment and wisdom should play no part. Of course he had no right to blurt out the intelligence product of another country without its permission. That country was Israel, reported a New York Times follow up.

It was feared that intelligence agencies around the world that share information with the United States would become reluctant to cooperate, a loss that would diminish our own security. That proved instantly to be the case when former heads of Israel's spy agency called for cutting off the flow of Mossad's intel to the U.S.

There was a concern that Trump risked security by allowing Russian media (U.S. media had no access) into the Oval Office where they might have brought in electronics to Bluetooth the hum of activity in the White House. Instead, rarified intelligence was simply handed to to Russians by Mr. Trump. One commentator said, "If you look at Russian media today, they were gloating. The report from Washington on the main newscast said, 'What Russian hackers? We don't need hackers. Trump is just giving us secrets by himself'".

Hillary Clinton's e-mail transgression were a constant theme of his campaign. Trump said last August, "In my administration, I'm going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information. No one will be above the law" and in September he said, "We can't have someone in the Oval Office who doesn't understand the meaning of confidential or classified".