# Trump reveals secret information **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 15, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692 "2017-05-15T21:26:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/1 "2017-05-15T21:26:21Z")
According to [this Washington Post article](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-revealed-highly-classified-information-to-russian-foreign-minister-and-ambassador/2017/05/15/530c172a-3960-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html?tid=sm_tw&tid=sm_tw&tid=sm_tw&tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.1456fdff9207) > [@](#): > > President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week, according to current and former U.S. officials, who said that Trump’s disclosures jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State. > > The information Trump relayed had been provided by a U.S. partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the U.S. government, officials said. > > The partner had not given the United States permission to share the material with Russia, and officials said that Trump’s decision to do so risks cooperation from an ally that has access to the inner workings of the Islamic State. After Trump’s meeting, senior White House officials took steps to contain the damage, placing calls to the CIA and National Security Agency. I know this is not illegal (the article later states that as POTUS he can declassify government secrets) but it strikes me this if it happened is very concerning. OK, it scares me. Am I overreacting? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/2 "2017-05-15T21:37:41Z")
If it’s true, it’s a big deal, and the WH will be rightly criticized strongly for it. We’ll see if it’s true or not. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/3 "2017-05-15T21:38:33Z")
… but, her emails? ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/4 "2017-05-15T21:39:04Z")
He’s like a child with this need to impress. If that intel came from GCHQ they will shut him out. There’s no room for children in that world, people die. ---
**Author:** ![igor\_frankensteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/839c29/32.png) [@igor\_frankensteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/igor_frankensteen)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/5 "2017-05-15T21:41:50Z")
I don’t know how far your reaction goes, so I can’t say whether you are overreacting or not. But if Trump is being as irresponsible as you suggest, it’s a serious problem. Perhaps the first true impeachable act I’ve heard being claimed for him. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/6 "2017-05-15T21:50:36Z")
It’s impossible to say how worrisome this is without knowing what the information was. It can be a valid negotiating tactic to “show your cards”, so to speak, so that the other party knows (or at least believes) that you’re in a position of strength. And of course, nations will share secret information in order to coordinate efforts versus common foes, of which the US and Russia do have a few. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/7 "2017-05-15T21:55:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s impossible to say how worrisome this is without knowing what the information was. The whole point of codeword information is that people aren’t supposed to know what it is – or even of its existence. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/8 "2017-05-15T22:05:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s impossible to say how worrisome this is without knowing what the information was. It can be a valid negotiating tactic to “show your cards”, so to speak, so that the other party knows (or at least believes) that you’re in a position of strength. And of course, nations will share secret information in order to coordinate efforts versus common foes, of which the US and Russia do have a few. All true, but the reported reaction from within the intelligence community suggests that this was not done carefully. And when you’re handling one piece of information that can potentially reveal OTHER information just through the existence of the first, you want to have put an awful lot of thought into when and how you’re revealing said info. If Trump is not doing that, it’s cause for concern. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/9 "2017-05-15T22:06:56Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The whole point of codeword information is that people aren’t supposed to know what it is – or even of its existence. If that were literally true then the information would have no value. When information is obtained from a source, the use of that information can compromise the source. But the completely inability to use it makes the source useless. So every intelligence decision includes a weighted decision: is this use of the information valuable enough to risk the source? The President, ultimately, is the one who gets to make that decision. He may (and typically does) delegate the authority, but not the responsibility. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/10 "2017-05-15T22:10:05Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > If Trump is not doing that, it’s cause for concern. Right. If this reveal was a carefully weighed and orchestrated plan, then, hey, that’s what intel services do. If this was, “I’m the President, guess what I know?” then, not a good thing. I have no idea which it was, but given my impressions of the President, I have my suspicions. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/11 "2017-05-15T22:11:19Z")
Ha! An apologist! What about the bodyguard who revealed to the world Mattis’s cell phone number? Is that OK too? [https://twitter.com/SopanDeb/status/864221150020349953](https://twitter.com/SopanDeb/status/864221150020349953) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/12 "2017-05-15T22:16:56Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > If that were literally true then the information would have no value. Obviously, people who have the appropriate security clearance _and_ Special Access to the program _and_ Need To Know can know about it. I think you forgot to include a 😉 at the end. . ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/13 "2017-05-15T22:17:49Z")
He did a similar thing with the Chinese leader in Florida, telling Xi over “a beautiful lice of cake” that he was bombing Syria at that moment. He’s just an unspeakable arse. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/14 "2017-05-15T22:19:36Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Right. If this reveal was a carefully weighed and orchestrated plan, then, hey, that’s what intel services do. That begs the question of whether the current President carefully weighs _anything_. > [@Bricker](#): > > If this was, “I’m the President, guess what I know?” then, not a good thing. Based on his actions before and since taking office, I think this is what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/15 "2017-05-15T22:19:49Z")
If you’re saying **Bricker’s** an apologist, I’m pretty sure he’s not saying that. I read that as option b, “not a good thing.” I have to concur. This is likely not a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/16 "2017-05-15T22:28:38Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > … but, her emails? [This seems appropriate](https://pics.me.me/individuals-who-are-extremely-careless-with-classified-information-should-be-14702525.png). [So does this](https://cdn.meme.am/cache/instances/folder18/400x/69276018.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/17 "2017-05-15T22:31:33Z")
So long as he doesn’t reveal his secret plan to fight inflation. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/18 "2017-05-15T22:44:58Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > … > Am I overreacting? I think so. Keep in mind that this administration wants to enforce mandatory minimum sentencing for low level drug offenses. This is illustrative of their commitment to the highest of priorities for the safety and security of the American people. What is beneficial to the American people, we the people, is what is important to these wonderful trustworthy people. They care, they really care. Golly it’s dusty in here. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/19 "2017-05-15T23:02:56Z")
Agent Orange has shit for brains. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/20 "2017-05-15T23:04:57Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Agent Orange has shit for brains. There’s [speculation](http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/video-suggests-trump-suffering-alzheimers) it’s suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692.md?page=2)