Republicans are lining up to either challenge President Trump’s actions as after he acknowledged passing information to the Russians in the Oval Office.
Republicans began lining up to either condemn or question President Trump’s actions as President Trump acknowledged passing information to the Russians in the Oval Office.
The White House was in free-fall over a Monday report that Trump had provided highly classified information during his Oval Office meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Russia’s ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Trump only added to the confusion when he came out swinging on Twitter Tuesday morning to push back on the report – and seemingly contradicted his security advisor, who slammed it hours earlier as ‘false.’
‘Sharing classified info to one of our enemies is a threat to our national security, troops on the ground & relationships w/ trusted allies, wrote moderate GOP Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Twitter.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to back up the president in an interview on Bloomberg TV.
‘Well, I read the Washington Post story and I read General McMaster’s response which tends to refute the story, rebut the story, ‘ McConnell said.
‘I think we could do with a little less drama from the White House on a lot of things so that we can focus on our agenda which is the deregulations, tax reform, repealing and replacing Obamacare, ‘ McConnell added.
“It’s not helpful that this was with the Russians, right, I mean this is just weird, ‘ said Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse.
Last week, Sasse came out to say he found it ‘troubling’ that Trump had fired FBI Director James Comey, who was overseeing the bureau’s investigation of alleged Russian election interference to back Trump’s campaign.
‘We and the Russians do not have aligned interests. They want to exacerbate our internal distrust of each other. They want to fracture NATO, ‘ Sasse said on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe.’ He added: ‘Putin is the enemy of the freedom of speech, religion, press and assembly, which is the beating heart of what America means.’
Trump defended himself against an onslaught of criticism on Tuesday morning after a report said he shared ‘highly classified’ information with the Russians about ISIS operations that came from a US ally.
‘As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W. H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism, ‘ Trump said in two tweets.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker raised the alarm Monday night in stark language, followingthe Washington Post report.
‘The White House has got to do something soon to bring itself under control and in order, ‘ Corker said.
‘It’s got to happen. Obviously they’re in a downward spiral right now and they’ve got to figure out a way to come to grips [with] all that’s happening.’
House Speaker Paul Ryan also didn’t throw Trump any lifelines in Monday comments from his office.
‘We have no way of knowing what was said, but protecting our nation’s secrets is paramount, ‘ the statement from Ryan’s spokesman, Doug Andres.
‘The speaker hopes for a full explanation of the facts from the administration.’
Democrats castigated the president’s conduct, saying it potentially compromised in intelligence sources and might dissuade allies from sharing information with the U. S.
The U. S. relies in information from allies to help thwart terror threats against Americans, as it has numerous times since Sept. 11th when it received information about plots to blow up airlines and other threats.
Houston Rep. Al Green on Monday called for impeachment charges to get brought against Trump. Since the president has broad authority to declassify information, it is unlikely he could be successfully prosecuted for any kind of crime no matter what he told the Russians, according to many legal experts. Lower-level government employees who disclose unauthorized information can get jailed.
“President Trump is not above the law, ” said Green said in a statement. “He has committed an impeachable act and must be charged. To do otherwise would cause some Americans to lose respect for, and obedience to, our societal norms.”
Green said only that Trump should be charged in the House, not that he was necessarily guilty. Any impeachment ‘trial’ would occur in the Senate.
Republicans control both Houses of Congress, making impeachment highly unlikely given the amount of general support Trump has received from his fellow party members.
McConnell’s mention of deregulation and tax reform is a reminder of how the party’s long-held policy goals are linked to Trump.
Only one other Democrat, Rep. Maxine Waters of California, has called for impeachment in TV interviews.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has denied reports that Trump revealed classified information to senior officials, calling the report ‘yet another fake’.
The Washington Post report claimed Trump revealed highly classified information about Islamic State militants last week.
Three White House officials who were in the May 10 meeting strongly denounced the story, claiming no intelligence sources and methods were discussed – but they didn’t deny that classified information was disclosed.
But the Post’s report, citing current and former US officials, shared details about an ISIS terror threat related to the use of laptop computers on aircraft with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
The anonymous officials told the Post that the information Trump relayed during the Oval Office meeting had been provided by a US partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement.
They said it was considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the US government.
Meanwhile, Jordan has said that King Abdullah II will speak with Trump via a phone call on Tuesday. The Royal Court said arrangements for the call were made last week.
Jordan is a key ally in the US-led international military coalition against Islamic State, which controls territory in neighboring Syria and Iraq.
After the reports emerged on Monday, Republican Senator Susan Collins also lashed out at Trump’s office.
‘Can we have a crisis-free day? That’s all I’m asking, ‘ she told reporters, according to HLN’s Carol Costello .
John McCain also offered a timid criticism of Trump, saying: ‘We certainly don’t want any president to leak classified information, but the president does have the right to do that.’
Democratic leaders were understandably much more stringent in their response to the reports.
