The latest ‘Trump will not survive this!’ hysteria is once again focused on the Russians. The Washington Post reported that Trump discussed classified information with the Russian ambassador about ISIS. Since the two nations regularly share classified information on the matter, this seems to be much ado about nothing on its face. However, the report claims that the specific intelligence discussed came from a sensitive source from a foreign country. Apparently in their discussion of the recent public terrorist threat dealing with laptops, Trump indicated the specific city of origin this threat arose from. In response, the White House denied discussing any sources or methods, but didn’t deny the specific detail outright. Trump looks to have revealed classified information on the details of the recent terrorist threat, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he did anything improper. McMaster was forceful in his defense of the President’s actions, claiming the conversation was, ‘wholly appropriate’ and ‘no sources were put at risk.’ I’m inclined to believe a highly respected general on the record rather than anonymous insinuations of impropriety. The Washington Post also claimed the White House scrambled to inform intelligence agencies in reaction to Trump’s statement, which would seem to contradict McMaster’s account. When questioned on it, McMaster claimed he was unaware of it and asserted that if it did occur it may have arisen from ‘an overabundance of caution.’ A New York Times report today states that such an incident is ‘not uncommon’ and occurred regularly in multiple past presidencies. It looks more and more like the Washington Post tried to turn a normal incident into a scandal by publicly revealing highly classified and sensitive information.

Let’s consider the actions and consequences of those running to the papers. These officials were so concerned about Trump naming a city, that they divulged far more details in an openly public disclosure. Purportedly fearing that Russia could reverse engineer the revelation to identify a source, the leakers gave specific details about the source and highlighted the sensitivity of it. These leaks did nothing to serve national security or national interest, they actively damaged it. They were aimed specifically at damaging Trump politically and sacrificed national security to do so. It may be that Trump revealed more information than he should have, although General McMaster disagrees, however, it is certain that those who leaked classified information to the papers did not have US’s national security interest in mind. Their leak wasn’t whistle blowing, it was a cravenly political effort that undermined US security.