Schumer: Trump must hand over transcript of Russia meeting

by Jordain Carney - 05/16/17 10:53 AM ET

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling on President Trump to provide Congress with a transcript of his meeting with top Russian officials after he reportedly discussed highly classified information.

“I am calling on the White House to make a transcript of the meeting with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador available to the congressional Intelligence Committees as soon as possible,” Schumer said.

He added that if Trump “has nothing to hide, he should direct that the transcript of the meeting be made available.”

The Washington Post reported Monday night that Trump had shared “code-word information” — one of the highest levels of classification — with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during a meeting last week in the Oval Office.

{mosads}Schumer added that combined with Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, which caught many lawmakers off guard, the administration was facing a “crisis of credibility.”

“At the top of the list are an erosion of trust in the presidency and trust in America by our friends and allies. The president owes the intelligence community, the American people and the Congress a full explanation,” Schumer said.

National security adviser H.R. McMaster told reporters at the White House that “the story that came out tonight, as reported, is false.”

Trump also appeared to defend sharing information with Russian officials on Twitter Tuesday morning, saying he had an “absolute right” to discuss facts.

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….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 16, 2017

…to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 16, 2017

According to the Post, Trump revealed information related to threats from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria that had been provided by a U.S. ally.

Schumer warned that if The Washington Post report is accurate, then Trump has “badly damaged our national security” and would “further damage” his relationship with the intelligence community.

“The president tweeted a version of events that undercut his advisors’ carefully worded denials and seems to confirm that the reports that he had shared the information in question,” he said.

Tags Charles Schumer

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