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'I never mentioned' Israel to Russians
A behind-the-scenes view of Trump's foreign trip
Trump: 'I never mentioned the word or the name Israel' to Russians
Story highlights
- Trump landed in Israel Monday
- He is set to have dinner with Netanyahu
Jerusalem (CNN)President
Donald Trump sought to rebut claims Monday that he damaged Israeli
intelligence capabilities by revealing highly classified information to
Russian operatives earlier this month.
"Just so you understand, I never mentioned the word or the name Israel," Trump said ahead of a bilateral session with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump
is accused of disclosing the information during an Oval Office session
with the Russian foreign minister and the Russian ambassador to the
United States on May 10. The information centered on attempts by
terrorist groups to load bombs into laptops in an attempt to blow up
airliners.
The
accusations, however, never suggested that Trump told his Russian
visitors that the information came from Israel. Instead, the information
Trump revealed is thought to have been so specific that its origin was
clear.
Standing
alongside Netanyahu on Monday, Trump nearly escaped answering questions
about the intelligence dust up. He appeared to walk away from his
Israeli counterpart before shaking hands, and then returned to finish
the photo-op.
In
a chaotic moment, reporters began shouting questions about the matter,
leading to aides urgently trying to remove the press from the room.
Trump
himself quelled the frenzy, extending his hands to to quiet the
shouting and declaring, twice, that he didn't mention Israel in his
conversation with the Russians.
Netanyahu
maintained that "intelligence cooperation is terrific" between Israel
and the United States in the wake of the revelations.
Trump, meanwhile, claimed the story had been misreported.
"You have another story wrong," he said.
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