Sean Spicer said that Trump was briefed in a secure location about North Korea’s recent missile test before he had dinner with Japan’s prime minister Shinzo…
Kevin Lamarque/Getty Images
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump was briefed in a secure location about North Korea’s recent missile test before he had dinner with Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday.
When asked by a local Florida reporter about photos taken during the dinner that appeared to show Trump and Abe being briefed on the incident in front of Mar-a-Lago members, Spicer replied that the leaders „were only talking about the logistics of the press conference“ in those photos.
„There is a SCIF at Mar-a-Lago,“ Spicer said, using an acronym for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. That is where presidents are typically briefed on sensitive and classified intelligence when they are away from the White House Situation Room.
Democratic Sen. Tom Udall tweeted on Monday that he and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse had asked the White House two weeks ago for information on how it “ screened Mar-a-Lago guests to prevent security risks. “
„We heard nothing back,“ Udall said, posting a photo of the letter he sent to the president on February 3.
On Sunday night, a paying member of Mar-A-Lago, Trump’s club in Palm Beach, Florida, uploaded photos to Facebook of Trump and Abe surrounded by aides holding cell phone flashlights up to various documents.
