President Donald Trump has retweeted a Fox News report based on anonymous U.S. intelligence sources, despite his attorney general’s pledge to clamp down on government leaks.
On Tuesday, Trump retweeted a story that said U.S. spy agencies have detected North Korea “loading two anti-ship cruise missiles on a patrol boat on the country’s east coast just days ago.” The story was attributed to anonymous U.S. officials.
Trump has repeatedly complained about leaks of government information to the press. Last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions vowed a crackdown, arguing such leaks could harm national security.
Asked about the story on “Fox & Friends,” U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said, “I can’t talk about anything that’s classified and if that’s in a newspaper, that’s a shame.”
“It’s incredibly dangerous when things get out into the press like that,” she continued. “You are not only just getting a scoop on something, you are playing with people’s lives, and this has got to stop. Whatever the leaks are coming from, if somebody thinks they are getting power or fame from it, all you are doing is putting Americans in danger.”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced last week that he would crack down on leaks, including the possibility of issuing subpoenas to reporters who publish articles based on anonymous sourcing.
“This nation must end this culture of leaks,” Sessions said. “We will investigate and seek to bring criminals to justice. We will not allow rogue anonymous sources with security clearances to sell out our country.”
It’s unclear if the information is indeed classified. The U.S. military routinely discloses information about North Korea missile movements and launches. The type of missile movements in the story appears fairly routine.
The White House did not respond to questions about why Trump retweeted the story or whether he was confirming the information.
(AP)
2 Responses
The degenerate draft dodger is a complete idiot and incompetent, a danger to this country!
No, you are wrong and Trump is right. It was probably seen on Googe Earth website!