The White House is strongly disputing a report from CNN that the United States removed a spy from Russia in 2017 partly due to concerns that President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE mishandled intelligence.

CNN is reporting that one of the highest-level American spies in Russia was extracted during a secret 2017 mission after concerns that Trump would reveal the spy. The cable news network cited a person directly involved in the conversation about the removal.

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The decision to plan an extraction came after Trump's May 2017 meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and then-Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak. The president during that meeting shared highly classified intelligence given by Israel about ISIS in Syria, according to CNN.

This information sparked a fear that the spy would be discovered, and then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo Michael (Mike) Richard PompeoWatchdog confirms State Dept. canceled award for journalist who criticized Trump Trump's push for win with Sudan amps up pressure on Congress Putin nominated for Nobel Peace Prize MORE warned senior Trump officials about the extent of information being released about the source.

CNN did not identify the spy or release any revealing details.

The White House and CIA both released statements to CNN taking issue with the report.

"CNN's narrative that the Central Intelligence Agency makes life-or-death decisions based on anything other than objective analysis and sound collection is simply false," CIA Director for Public Affairs Brittany Barmell said in a statement to CNN. "Misguided speculation that the President's handling of our nation's most sensitive intelligence — which he has access to each and every day — drove an alleged exfiltration operation is inaccurate."

The removal of the spy caused the United States to lose a key source in the Russian government built up over time in a time when there's increased tensions between the countries, sources told CNN.

CNN reported that a source said the United States had "no equal alternative" insight into the Russian government and Russian President Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich PutinWatchdog confirms State Dept. canceled award for journalist who criticized Trump Former intelligence agency director Robert Cardillo speaks out against 'erratic' Trump Kremlin: Putin calls for reset between US and Russia on cyber relations before elections MORE.

Last month, Russia experienced a nuclear explosion, causing the relationship between it and the U.S. to become even more strained.