Cipher Brief Expert View: Consequences for Sharing Intel with Russia

By General Michael Hayden

General Michael V. Hayden is a retired four-star General in the United States Air Force; he served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2006-2009 and as Director of the National Security Agency from 1999-2005.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he had an “absolute right” to share highly classified information from a U.S. ally about an ISIS terror threat with Russia.

Trump’s tweets came the morning after top White House national security officials declared the story, which was first reported by the Washington Post, as false. The President shared the intelligence with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak on May 10.

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