McMaster on WaPo Report: 'I Was in the Room, It Didn't Happen'

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster speaks to the media outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Monday, May 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster gave a brief statement Monday evening, flatly refuting the latest anti-Trump hit piece in the Washington Post. According to the Post’s anonymous sources, Trump shared “highly classified information” with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during their White House meeting last week. All three principals (Sec. of State Rex Tillerson, Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell, and McMaster) who were in the room with the president and the Russians have denied the Washington Post story.

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LT. GEN. H.R. McMASTER, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I have a brief statement for the record. There is nothing that the president takes more seriously than the security of the American people. The story that came out tonight as reported is false. The president and the foreign minister reviewed a range of common threats to our two countries, including threats to civil aviation.

At no time, at no time, were intelligent sources or methods discussed. And the president did not disclose any military operations that were not already publicly known. Two other senior officials who were present, including the Secretary of the State, remember the meeting the same way and have said so. Their on the record accounts should outweigh those of anonymous sources. I was in the room. It didn’t happen.

Fox News White House Correspondent John Roberts said the Trump White House is trying to get to the bottom of how the story leaked. He said a senior White House official told him that “the fact that someone would leak this is astonishing, and it shows an extraordinary lack of concern for national security.” Roberts added that”the White House is baffled as to how all of this got out,” as there was a limited number of people in the room.

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Jesse Waters said that a top priority at the White House should be to find out which aide in the room during the meeting leaked the story to the Washington Post.

 

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