# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/21 "2017-05-15T23:08:00Z")
Meanwhile, in Moscow they’re upset because Trump wasn’t supposed to reveal that he’s passing classified information to the Russians. ---
**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, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/22 "2017-05-15T23:13:59Z")
**Air Force General:** No, sir, sorry! No press! Those are orders. National security. **Reporter:** But the war’s over! **Air Force General:** Well, look, pal. Maybe they don’t want someone to know. **Reporter:** Who? **Air Force General:** The Russians, maybe. **Reporter:** The Russians?! They’re our allies! **Air Force General:** Well, anyway, somebody wanted it that way. And that’s the way it is. Change ‘Reporter:’ to ‘Trump:’ 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/23 "2017-05-15T23:21:10Z")
I’m just real glad to learn how hard he’s working to keep us all safe. ETA: Oops! I see **bobot** already made this point, and much more eloquently than I did! Carry on. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/24 "2017-05-15T23:41:40Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > He’s like a child with this need to impress. Indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/25 "2017-05-15T23:48:22Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > That begs the question of whether the current President carefully weighs _anything_. He doesn’t have to because maybe his advisors do. ADVISOR: Mr. President, this information is top secret and it’s very important that the Russians not know about it. TRUMP: How secret? How important? ADVISOR: Very secret sir, hence the “top” designation. And it’s very important not to reveal it. TRUMP: Is it the secretest secret ever? Very important, very important. ADVISOR: Um, yes sir. Uh, the secretest ever. Sir. TRUMP: Well all right then. ADVISOR (INTO PHONE QUIETLY): Operation Disinformation is green. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/26 "2017-05-16T00:01:25Z")
Who was the ally? Israel? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/27 "2017-05-16T00:37:19Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Who was the ally? Israel? Egypt, probably ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/28 "2017-05-16T01:53:55Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Who was the ally? Israel? The description (“… 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”) makes it sound to me like the one of our [Five Eyes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Eyes) partners. If so that would make it the UK, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand. ---
**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 16, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/29 "2017-05-16T01:59:15Z")
Yes, Five Eyes - you trust Israel with fuck all. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/30 "2017-05-16T02:04:51Z")
[Political Leaders Respond](https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/lawmakers-express-shock-and-concern-about-trump-disclosure-of-classified-information/2017/05/15/d0d6f8be-39b5-11e7-a058-ddbb23c75d82_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-high_hillreact-0707pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.9b14ea015293) > [@](#): > > Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was silent as he walked from his office to the Senate floor. Asked how concerned he was about Trump sharing information with Russian officials, he looked straight ahead, offering no reaction. Pressed further, he retracted his head and limbs fully into his torso and lay on the hall carpet until reporters were escorted from the scene by Capitol police. ---
**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 16, 2017, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/31 "2017-05-16T02:09:27Z")
Someone should have flipped him on his back while he was down there. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/32 "2017-05-16T02:09:54Z")
And I here I thought this thread was going to be about the newly discovered Gnostic Gospel of Donald. Damn!!! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/33 "2017-05-16T02:12:56Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > [Political Leaders Respond](https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/lawmakers-express-shock-and-concern-about-trump-disclosure-of-classified-information/2017/05/15/d0d6f8be-39b5-11e7-a058-ddbb23c75d82_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-high_hillreact-0707pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.9b14ea015293) > > > [@](#): > > > > Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was silent as he walked from his office to the Senate floor. Asked how concerned he was about Trump sharing information with Russian officials, he looked straight ahead, offering no reaction. > > Pressed further, he retracted his head and limbs fully into his torso and lay on the hall carpet until reporters were escorted from the scene by Capitol police. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/34 "2017-05-16T02:15:44Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > 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. But at least that wasn’t classified. Once the bombs start falling, it’s pretty hard to keep secret. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/35 "2017-05-16T02:23:48Z")
There’s a good analysis of this at [Lawfare Blog](https://lawfareblog.com/bombshell-initial-thoughts-washington-posts-game-changing-story) which goes on to discuss what matters, including the low-hanging “But the president can do that!” fruit that will dominate the discussion and why that’s only one small part of it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/36 "2017-05-16T02:24:06Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Someone should have flipped him on his back while he was down there. And turned him 'round, wheeeeee! ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/37 "2017-05-16T02:34:25Z")
Do we know how this got out? It’s not like there were a whole lot of people in that room, right? And, anyone think he’s trying to get taken out by the 25th amendment at this point? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/38 "2017-05-16T02:39:09Z")
Based on something I read elsewhere: has anyone filed a FOIA request for any records of this conversation, or at least the previously-classified information Trump revealed to Russian officials? If the argument is that he declassified it, is there a way a FOIA request could make it public? I’m not saying that would be a good idea, but I’m wondering whether the issue could be forced. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/39 "2017-05-16T02:46:56Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Do we know how this got out? It’s not like there were a whole lot of people in that room, right? > > And, anyone think he’s trying to get taken out by the 25th amendment at this point? I think he’s a bumbling idiot who’s failed his way into office and now has no idea how to use the power he’s been given, or to what end. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692/40 "2017-05-16T02:48:31Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > 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. Regardless of whether Trump breached American law, is it not highly likely he breached the terms of the specific information-sharing agreement in question? Since, as the WaPo article states, ‘The partner had not given the United States permission to share the material with Russia’ Without knowing who the partner actually was it’s hard to research this. But for instance, here’s a snippet of the [Agreement between the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation on the Security of Information](http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A22003A0327(01)) > [@](#): > > Article 4 > > Each Party shall: > > (a) protect and safeguard classified information or material subject to the present Agreement provided or exchanged by the other Party; > > … > > (d) **not disclose such information or material subject to the present Agreement to third parties** , and to any EU institution or entity not mentioned in Article 3 or to States not mentioned in Article 5(a), without the consent of the originator. Don’t other nation states sharing information with the US government require similar assurances from them? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-reveals-secret-information/786692.md?page=3)