President Trump insisted on Monday that he never mentioned Israel during a meeting this month with Russian officials, in which he was accused of spilling secrets given to the U.S. that were provided by Israeli intelligence services.
“I never mentioned the word or the name Israel, never mentioned it, during that conversation,” Trump said in Jerusalem before a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The president turned the blame on the group of reporters accompanying him on his visit to Jerusalem. “They were all saying I did, so you had another story wrong,” he said to the journalists.
Trump: “I never mentioned the word or the name Israel.” pic.twitter.com/MGoxAswM3y— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 22, 2017
However, Trump was never accused of specifically identifying Israel in his meeting with Russia, and instead was accused of relaying information to Russia that could easily be traced back to Israel. Trump reportedly told the Russian foreign minister and Russian ambassador details about an Islamic State plot that Israel had uncovered and given to the United States.
