Israel, “source of classified information” Trump shared with Russia

Citing current and former officials, The New York Times reported Tuesday that Israeli officials declined to comment on whether they were the source of the information.

Israel “has full confidence in our intelligence-sharing relationship with the United States and looks forward to deepening that relationship in the years ahead under President Trump,” said Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer in a statement.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer also refused to comment on the matter.

“I’m not going to comment on that any further," he said during an off-camera briefing at the White House. "We appreciate the strong relationship that we have with Israel when it comes to intelligence sharing."

According to the Hill, the reports could “complicate” US-Israel relations.

"The president wasn’t even aware of where this information came from,” said Trump’s national security adviser, General H.R. McMaster. “He wasn’t briefed on the source."

The revelation initially appeared in a Monday report by The Washington Post.

Trump administration officials, including McMaster and Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell, rushed to deny the report.
Later, Trump defended the move, asserting that as commander in chief, he has the “absolute right” to do so.

During a meeting at the White House this month, the president reportedly shared classified information with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russia's ambassador to the US, Sergei Kislyak.

Trump has been under investigation over possible collusion with the Kremlin during the 2016 presidential campaign and transition.

KD