President of the United States Donald Trump and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov

© Alexander Shcherbak / TASS

The Washington Post, referring to sources in the White House, reported that US President Donald Trump, at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russia's ambassador to the US, Sergei Kislyak, on May 10 could uncover top secret information, thereby jeopardizing "the most important source" Information about the "Islamic state" (the organization is banned in the Russian Federation .-- TASS Comment). Subsequently, this was confirmed by other American media. However, the White House denied the information of journalists, and in the Kremlin the publication was called "complete nonsense". Tass explains what kind of information the US president allegedly shared with the Russian side and whether he had the right to disclose such information.

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What exactly Trump allegedly told Lavrov?

According to sources in the White House, the president in detail told about a new threat from the IG associated with the use of laptops on flights. Trump told how the terrorists can conduct certain attacks, and explained how much harm they can cause. He also called the city on a controlled territory, where a certain US partner on intelligence information exchange discovered a new threat. According to the officials, Trump reported on the steps the United States has taken to confront the new IG threat, including military operations in Iraq and Syria, and tougher security measures.

"I get excellent intelligence, I have people who provide me with a wonderful intelligence every day," the Washington Post quoted the words allegedly made by Trump.

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He had the right to share this information?

Yes. The US president has broad powers to declassify government data and, having taken an appropriate decision, hardly violated the law. However, a similar action by any member of the US government would be illegal.

Slate writes that in the past, the information "top secret" was passed on to other countries by presidents John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon and George W. Bush. The latter even invited foreign leaders, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Spain Jose Maria Aznar and Russian President Vladimir Putin to close briefings.

In turn, Vox points out that such an exchange of information would be illegal only if the US were at war with Russia. This is stated in the third section of the third article of the US Constitution. In times of war, Trump's actions could be classified as treason. But the US and Russia do not fight, and therefore there is no question of any violation of the law.

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Then what is the problem?

The information that the president allegedly shared is considered too sensitive. According to journalists, Trump "revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than the United States gives to his allies," and access to it was by no means all high-ranking US officials.

In addition, the source did not give permission to transmit this data to Russia. According to US officials, Trump's decision has called into question further cooperation with allies with important information about the IG. Interlocutors NYT note that this source promised to interrupt the exchange of data if they share "right and left".

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The White House confirmed the information of journalists?

No. US National Security Adviser Herbert McMaster, who attended the Trump meeting with the Russian side, said that the information contained in the Washington Post article was "false." According to him, the Russian foreign minister and the US president discussed the threats that come from terrorist organizations, but "no sources or methods of intelligence were discussed." The same position was voiced by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

However, inquisitive journalists drew attention to the fact that the publication of The Washington Post said nothing about the sources or methods of reconnaissance. The note in the note was directly about the very fact of the transfer of intelligence information.

The president himself in his Twitter wrote that as head of state he had every right to share information with Russia. He added that the data he provided to Russian representatives would contribute to the fight against terrorism.

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What about the story is said by critics Trump and his supporters?

The publication of The Washington Post was expected to provoke a stir in the liberal media and among members of the Democrats. The head of the Senate minority Democrat Charles Schumer called the publication of classified information "very dangerous" and called on the president "to explain his actions to the intelligence community, the American people and Congress."

Republican John McCain in his Twitter wrote that the information of journalists "is alarming if it's true." The comments of the other members of the Republican Party were even more cautious. Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress Paul Ryan through his official

Source: http://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/4254477