At 11:30 am on Tuesday, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster is scheduled to comment on a bombshell report by the Washington Post that found President Donald Trump had recently disclosed highly classified information to Russian officials.
The classified information, which was reportedly about ISIS, was closely held even within the US government. As one US official told the Post, Trump “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.”
The Post’s reveal comes as Trump faces continuing scrutiny over his own ties to Russia. Last week, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, who was leading the agency through an investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russian officials to sway the 2016 election. Trump admitted to NBC News anchor Lester Holt that the Russia investigation was on his mind when he fired Comey, drawing new criticisms that the president had committed obstruction of justice.
A day after firing Comey, Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. It is in this meeting where he reportedly disclosed highly classified intelligence to the Russians, who are widely seen as an adversary to US interests on the global stage.
Though initial rounds of administration statements included non-denial denials about leaking information to Russians, Trump himself on Tuesday morning confirmed on Twitter that he shared information with Russian officials last week, though he did not say if that information was classified.
Now Trump’s staff is cleaning up after him.
