According to recent reports, President Donald Trump revealed highly classified information about ISIS to Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.
The information, related to the use of laptops on aircraft, came from a partner of the US which had not given permission for it to be shared with Russia, the Washington Post reports.
President Trump received Sergei Lavrov in the Oval Office last week.
National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster dismissed the reporting as “false”.
However, Donald Trump has dismissed such allegations as “fake news”.
Image source Russian Foreign Ministry
During the election campaign, President Trump repeatedly criticized his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, for how she handled sensitive material.
In a conversation with the Russian foreign minister and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak in the Oval Office, the president revealed details that could lead to the exposure of a source of information, officials told the Washington Post and the New York Times.
The discussion was about an ISIS plot. President Trump reportedly went “off-script”, revealing specifics of the plot, thought to centre on the use of laptop computers on aircraft, and the city from which that threat had been detected.
The intelligence disclosed came from a US ally and was considered too sensitive to share with other US allies, the papers report.
Others present realized the mistake and scrambled to “contain the damage” by informing the CIA and the National Security Agency (NSA), the Washington Post reports.
Donald Trump’s actions would not be illegal, as the US president has the authority to declassify information.
National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster told reporters that the story, “as reported”, was “false”.
“The president and foreign minister reviewed a range of common threats to our two countries, including threats to civil aviation,” he said.
“At no time – at no time – were intelligence sources or methods discussed. And the president did not disclose any military operations that were not already publicly known.”
In a statement, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson echoed the point that “the nature of specific threats were discussed, but they did not discuss sources, methods or military operations”.
The Washington Post, which first broke the story, said this did not amount to a denial.
Hundreds of Hillary Clinton’s emails from her private server are to be reviewed to see if they contain classified information.
The State Department identified the emails as it carries out its check on whether they can be released publicly.
Hillary Clinton’s use of private email while secretary of state for four years has sparked a barrage of criticism.
The Democratic 2016 frontrunner says her private email contained nothing that was classified at the time.
Critics say that her set-up was unsecure, against government rules and designed to shield her communications from oversight.
Photo Facebook
In December 2014, Hillary Clinton handed over about 30,000 emails she sent and received while in office.
A team of officials has been checking the emails since a federal judge ordered they be released to the public on a rolling basis over the next five months.
In court papers filed with a District court judge in Washington on August 17, the State Department updated its progress.
One of its officials told the court that 305 of Hillary Clinton’s emails are being recommended for review by intelligence agencies.
State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters later that day the review of more emails was “healthy”.
“It doesn’t mean that all 300 are going to end up at some level of (classification upgrade). I suspect some will and I suspect some won’t,” he said.
The FBI is investigating whether classified information was improperly sent via the server and stored there.
Under US federal law, officials’ correspondence is considered to be US government property.
Hillary Clinton has denied using a private email account to send or receive classified information while she was secretary of state, in response to a government inspector’s letter this week.
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said at a campaign stop in Iowa: “I did not send nor receive anything that was classified at the time.”
The email controversy has dogged Hillary Clinton’s bid for the presidency, fuelling worries that the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination has tried to sidestep transparency and record-keeping laws.
At least four emails from the private email account that Hillary Clinton used while secretary of state contained classified information, Inspector General Charles McCullough, who oversees US intelligence agencies, told members of Congress in a letter on July 23.
Photo AP
However, Hillary Clinton said on July 25 she had “no idea” what were the emails mentioned in the letter.
Charles McCullough’s letter said a sampling of 40 of about 30,000 emails sent or received by Hillary Clinton found at least four that contained information the government had classified as secret.
The information was classified at the time that the emails were sent, he said.
The use of her private email account, linked to a server in her New York home for work, has drawn fire from political opponents since coming to light in March.
Republicans have accused Hillary Clinton of trying to avoid disclosure laws through her use of private systems.
Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner to represent the Democratic Party in the November 2016 election, has repeatedly said she broke no laws or rules by eschewing a standard government email account.
Ex-CIA director David Petraeus should be charged with providing classified information to former mistress Paula Broadwell, prosecutors have recommended.
The New York Times first reported the news, citing officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A decorated former general, David Petraeus resigned as CIA chief in 2012 after details of his affair with Paula Broadwell emerged.
He was a commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan before taking the role.
A US Justice Department investigation is focusing on whether David Petraeus gave Paula Broadwell access to his CIA email and other classified information while director of the organization, the newspaper says.
FBI agents discovered classified documents on Paula Broadwell’s computer after David Petraeus quit, according to the New York Times.
Photo AP
The recommendations to press criminal charges from the FBI and US Justice Department would leave Attorney General Eric Holder with a decision on whether to seek an indictment, which could see David Petraeus jailed if found guilty.
David Petraeus has said he never provided classified information to Paula Broadwell, according to the paper.
The affair reportedly began in 2011, while Paula Broadwell was working on a biography of David Petraeus.
In the same year, David Petraeus resigned from his commanding position in Afghanistan to take on the CIA role.
David Petraeus resigned from the CIA in 2012, saying he had shown “extremely poor judgment” in conducting the affair.
President Barack Obama paid tribute to David Petraeus at the time, saying he had “provided extraordinary service to the United States for decades”.
Harassing emails sent by Paula Broadwell to her love rival, Jill Kelley, contained confidential information about David Petraeus’ movements, a law enforcement source has revealed.
After Jill Kelley contacted the FBI, agents launched a massive in-depth investigation into who was sending the emails because they shared this detailed information that was not publicly available.
The catty emails, which told Jill Kelley to “back off” from David Petraeus, were sent to Kelley from several fake email addresses. In order to find who had confidential information about David Petraeus’ whereabouts, the FBI obtained an administrative subpoena, and traced them back to Paula Broadwell.
In the course of the investigation, they also unearthed emails indicating the affair between Paula Broadwell and David Petraeus, leading to his resignation on Friday.
The new details of what uncovered David Petraeus’ months-long relationship with his biographer come as the FBI continue to search military documents Paula Broadwell admitted to stashing in her home.
Security officials have revealed she had “substantial” classified information on her computer which should have been stored more securely.
The computer was taken from Paula Broadwell’s Charlotte, North Carolina home on Monday night after she admitted to FBI investigators that she had taken classified military documents, a source told ABC.
FBI agents left Paula Broadwell’s Charlotte home on Monday evening with documents and computers
President Barack Obama said on Wednesday there was no indication so far that any classified documents had been found but said he will not prejudge the investigation results.
Officials continue to investigate exactly how Paula Broadwell acquired the files, but as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Military Reserve, she had security clearance to review the documents.
The government had demanded she return the documents and organized the visit to her home. Prosecutors are now deciding whether to charge her with a crime.
Paula Broadwell, who has kept a low profile since the scandal broke, was seen taking refuge at her brother’s home in the Petworth suburb of Washington D.C. on Tuesday night.
Preparing an evening meal with a glass of wine in her hand, the 40-year-old mother-of-two wore the strain of the last few days clearly on her face. There was no sign of her husband, Scott Broadwell.
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