Sen. John McCain’s statement Tuesday is more critical than his initial response to the news. | Getty McCain: Trump’s actions 'deeply disturbing'

Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain said Tuesday the reports President Donald Trump shared classified intelligence with Russia are “deeply disturbing.”

“Reports that this information was provided by a U.S. ally and shared without its knowledge sends a troubling signal to America’s allies and partners around the world and may impair their willingness to share intelligence with us in the future,” McCain, who has been one of Trump’s fiercest GOP critics, said in a statement.


“Regrettably,” McCain continued, “the time President Trump spent sharing sensitive information with the Russians was time he did not spend focusing on Russia’s aggressive behavior, including its interference in American and European elections, its illegal invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, its other destabilizing activities across Europe, and the slaughter of innocent civilians and targeting of hospitals in Syria.”

On Monday, The Washington Post reported that Trump divulged highly classified information involving the Islamic State that officials had obtained through an intelligence-sharing arrangement with a U.S. partner. The arrangement was so sensitive that the information was not even shared with other U.S. allies, according to the Post.

Top White House officials, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, have issued denials, stating that Trump did not disclose “sources and methods.”

McCain’s statement Tuesday is more critical than his initial response to the news; he told reporters Monday that while it’s not desirable for Trump to leak classified information, the president does have the right to do so.