President Trump is developing a “sound strategy” to prevent leaks of classified information to prevent revelations that endanger the country, his spokesman said Tuesday.
“When we have government employees that are entrusted with this and then leak it out, that undermines our national security,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.
Spicer was responding to a tweet from President Trump that said the most important issue related to the firing of former national security adviser Mike Flynn is the leaks to the press that happened in the days before he was fired. Flynn left following reports that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his discussions with a Russian ambassador, and Flynn himself acknowledged that he “inadvertently” didn’t describe those discussions in full.
Spicer admitted that Flynn lost the confidence of the White House, but also said a bigger story here is the leaks that emerged about the issue.
“I think there’s also a story here where the amount of leaks that are coming out . . . that’s a real concern for this president, that when he is talking on the phone with a world leader, that when he is making key decisions that are in the interest of protecting this country, that we have to wonder whether or not people who work for our government — who are entrusted with classified information and decisional-based materials — are leaking that information out,” Spicer added.
The White House has been plagued by leaks in recent weeks, quite apart from the Flynn scandal. Transcripts of his heated conversations with the leaders of Australia and Mexico, for instance, were obtained by media outlets. The details of those calls provoked harsh criticism from Republicans and Democrats.
Spicer wouldn’t say how Trump plans to stop the leaks, but he hinted it remains a priority.
“I think this goes back to the same way he negotiates — telling people what we’re going to do to cover up additional leaks wouldn’t be a very sound strategy when it comes to making sure that doesn’t happen again,” he said. “The president, as I said, is clearly upset about this. He understands the threat that they pose to our national security, and he’s going to make sure that he continues to take action to make sure that that stops.”
