A Republican congressman is calling on the White House to share with some lawmakers the entire transcript of a controversial meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian officials, during which Trump reportedly revealed highly classified information.
Trump reportedly gave away intelligence that was provided to the U.S. by an ally, and pertained to the Islamic State (ISIS). The president said in a tweet Tuesday morning that he “wanted to share with Russia … facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety.”
Wisconsin representative Mike Gallagher, an intelligence officer by training, called for the administration to share records of the meeting with lawmakers on intelligence panels in the House and Senate.
“For the purpose of transparency, the White House should share a transcript of the meeting with the House and Senate intelligence committees,” he wrote early Tuesday.
The transcript of the meeting was “limited to a small circle,” and controversial parts of the meeting were removed from internal memos, the Washington Post reported.
Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, said Monday that the report is “false” and that Trump did not give away information pertaining to sources and methods. But as THE WEEKLY STANDARD noted, the Post report did not claim that the president revealed sources or intelligence-gathering methods. Instead, according to the report, Trump revealed intelligence that could be reverse-engineered to figure out that information.
Gallagher expressed alarm over the possibility that Trump broke the trust of a key partner by sharing information obtained by that partner without permission.
“I know firsthand the life and death implications of safeguarding classified information,” he wrote. “Our allies and partners must have the utmost confidence that sensitive information they share with us will not be disclosed.”
Gallagher also warned more broadly against working with Russia to fight terrorism, something Trump has said he wants to do.
“Regardless of what was shared in the meeting, it’s dangerous to believe that Russia can be a reliable counterterrorism partner,” Gallagher said. “The sooner we abandon this fantasy and work with our allies to oppose the Russian-Iranian axis throughout the Middle East, the better.”
Another Republican, Senate Foreign Relations committee chairman Bob Corker, also appeared troubled by the report Monday, telling reporters that the White House is in a “downward spiral.”
“If the allegations are true, that would be very, very troubling,” Corker said. “To compromise a source is something that you just don’t do, and that’s why we keep the information that we get from intelligence sources so close.”
