Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday said he does not see any reason President Donald Trump should apologize for reportedly sharing Israeli intelligence with top Russian diplomats.
“I don’t know that there’s anything to apologize for,” Tillerson told reporters on Air Force One, according to a travel pool report. “To the extent the Israelis have any questions, or clarification, I’m sure we’re happy to provide that.”
The Washington Post reported last week that Trump shared highly classified information about an Islamic State threat with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during a meeting in the Oval Office. On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that Israel was the source of that intelligence.
Standing next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday for a photo op, Trump denied that he ever specifically mentioned Israel, though the Times did not claim that Trump explicitly named the source of the information.
“Just so you understand, I never mentioned the word or the name Israel,” he said. “Never mentioned it, during that conversation.”
“Intelligence cooperation is terrific, and it’s never been better,” Netanyahu added.
