Revealed: The highly sensitive Israeli intelligence on Isis that Donald Trump gave away to Russia
Details have emerged of the highly-classified Israeli intelligence revealed by Donald Trump to Russian officials earlier this year.
The US President’s decision to spill the information during a meeting with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was described as having brought Israeli spies’ “worst fears” to life.
Israel and the US have a close intelligence-sharing relationship but spies from the Middle Eastern nation had previously been warned not to share sensitive details with the Trump White House, according to reports in Israeli media.
During his meeting with Mr Lavrov and the Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak, Mr Trump is now said to have revealed the details of a the covert Israeli operation that exposed Isis’ plans to create new laptop bombs and smuggle them aboard commercial airliners.
US reporters were barred from the meeting and the only images that documented it were taken by Russia’s TASS news agency.
Two experts on Israeli intelligence told Vanity Fair the anti-Isis mission took place last winter, the magazine claimed.
Two helicopters flew a team of commandos and Mossad operatives deep into Syria to gain information on a reported new Isis weapon.
They landed some miles from their target and proceeded in vehicles with Syrian Army markings before bugging the Isis cell and getting back out, Vanity Fair reported.
Donald Trump plans total repeal of net neutrality law that keeps the internet free
Unit 8200, Israel’s signals intelligence corps, monitored the broadcasts from the bugs for several days before striking gold – an Isis soldier explaining how to create a bomb from a laptop that would fool airport security.
Israel quickly shared the details with the US, Vanity Fair said. A widespread ban on carrying laptops on plans was announced to travellers in March this year.
Mr Trump also told his Russian guests the specific city in northern Syria that had been targeted, though not the nation that carried out the mission, the magazine reported.
Israel was later named as the source of the intelligence in US media reports.
At the time, US National Security Adviser H R McMaster said the President “wasn’t even aware where this information came from” and “wasn’t briefed on the sources and methods”.
“At no time were intelligence sources or methods discussed,” he said. “The President did not disclose any military operations that were not already publicly known... I was in the room. It didn’t happen.”
Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far...
Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far...
1/22 Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin
In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr. Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Mr. Trump
Getty
2/22 Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling
Following furious backlash in the US, the President claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it wouldn't have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment
Reuters
3/22 Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter
The President announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
4/22 Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality
While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the President made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired!
Reuters
5/22 Calling African nations "S***hole Countries"
Ever one for diplomacy, the President reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Mr. Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape."
Reuters
6/22 Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin
Donald Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying, “There are a lot of killers. You think our country’s so innocent?”
Reuters
7/22 Asked for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger
At the National Prayer Breakfast, Donald Trump couldn’t help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of “The Apprentice” — which buoyed Mr Trump’s celebrity status years ago
Getty
8/22 Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull
Early in his presidency, Donald Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the “worst call” he had had so far
Getty
9/22 The 'Muslim ban'
Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Donald Trump’s travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administration’s argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security
Getty
10/22 Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage
After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Donald Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the President picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there
AP
11/22 Calling North Korean leader Kim Jong-un 'Little Rocket Man'
During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Donald Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be “little Rocket Man” as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea
12/22 Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack
After the attack on the London Bridge, Donald Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticizing Mr Khan for saying there was “no reason to be alarmed” after the attack. Mr Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Mr Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control
Getty
13/22 Claimed presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face'
Never one not to mock his enemies, Donald Trump mocked MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to “join” him. He noted that she was “bleeding badly from a face-lift” at the time, and that he said no
MSNBC
14/22 Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides'
Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer
AP
15/22 Retweeted cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train'
Donald Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet
16/22 Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN
Donald Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Mr Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of “fake news”
17/22 Firing head of the FBI, James Comey
Donald Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop
Getty
18/22 Not realising being president would be 'hard'
Just three months into his presidency, Donald Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Mr Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire
Reuters
19/22 Accusing Obama of wiretapping him
Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Mr Obama had not, in fact, done so
Reuters
20/22 Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes'
Donald Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Ms Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.)
21/22 Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement
Just days after taking office, Donald Trump’s White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didn’t mention “jews” or even the word “jewish” in the written statement
Getty
22/22 Anger over Inauguration crowd size
Donald Trump’s inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever.
Relatedly, Mr Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didn’t, the day was very dreary
Reuters
1/22 Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin
In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr. Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Mr. Trump
Getty
2/22 Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling
Following furious backlash in the US, the President claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it wouldn't have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment
Reuters
3/22 Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter
The President announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
4/22 Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality
While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the President made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired!
Reuters
5/22 Calling African nations "S***hole Countries"
Ever one for diplomacy, the President reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Mr. Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape."
Reuters
6/22 Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin
Donald Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying, “There are a lot of killers. You think our country’s so innocent?”
Reuters
7/22 Asked for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger
At the National Prayer Breakfast, Donald Trump couldn’t help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of “The Apprentice” — which buoyed Mr Trump’s celebrity status years ago
Getty
8/22 Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull
Early in his presidency, Donald Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the “worst call” he had had so far
Getty
9/22 The 'Muslim ban'
Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Donald Trump’s travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administration’s argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security
Getty
10/22 Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage
After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Donald Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the President picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there
AP
11/22 Calling North Korean leader Kim Jong-un 'Little Rocket Man'
During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Donald Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be “little Rocket Man” as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea
12/22 Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack
After the attack on the London Bridge, Donald Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticizing Mr Khan for saying there was “no reason to be alarmed” after the attack. Mr Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Mr Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control
Getty
13/22 Claimed presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face'
Never one not to mock his enemies, Donald Trump mocked MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to “join” him. He noted that she was “bleeding badly from a face-lift” at the time, and that he said no
MSNBC
14/22 Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides'
Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer
AP
15/22 Retweeted cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train'
Donald Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet
16/22 Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN
Donald Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Mr Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of “fake news”
17/22 Firing head of the FBI, James Comey
Donald Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop
Getty
18/22 Not realising being president would be 'hard'
Just three months into his presidency, Donald Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Mr Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire
Reuters
19/22 Accusing Obama of wiretapping him
Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Mr Obama had not, in fact, done so
Reuters
20/22 Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes'
Donald Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Ms Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.)
21/22 Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement
Just days after taking office, Donald Trump’s White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didn’t mention “jews” or even the word “jewish” in the written statement
Getty
22/22 Anger over Inauguration crowd size
Donald Trump’s inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever.
Relatedly, Mr Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didn’t, the day was very dreary
Reuters
Mr Trump later said he had the “absolute right” to share the intelligence.
One Israeli official, however, told Buzzfeed News: ”We have an arrangement with America which is unique to the world of intelligence sharing. We do not have this relationship with any other country.
“To know that this intelligence is shared with others, without our prior knowledge? That is, for us, our worst fears confirmed.”
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