McMASTER TO THE DEFENSE: The member of President Trump’s White House with arguably the highest credibility, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, was sent out to explain the president’s sharing of intelligence with Russian diplomats, and for a few hours it appeared McMaster may have successfully made the case that the president’s actions were “wholly appropriate.” It seemed like some of the air was going out of the latest bombshell report.
Then the Comey memo dropped.
But one crisis at a time. Here’s a quick review of what McMaster said yesterday, which he probably should have said the night before.
The denial stands: McMaster stood by his Monday night statement that the Washington Post story was “false” but explained it was the the premise of the story — that Trump compromised sources and methods — that was inaccurate, not the fact that the president chose to share information about terrorist threats to civil aviation. “What I’m saying is really the premise of that article is false, that in any way the president had a conversation that was inappropriate or that resulted in any kind of lapse in national security.”
The president did nothing wrong: “In the context that discussion, what the president discussed with the foreign minister was wholly appropriate to that conversation and is consistent with the routine sharing of information between the president and any leaders with whom he’s engaged.” McMaster added none of Trump’s team thought there was any problem at the time. “None of us felt in any way that that conversation was inappropriate.”
The president did not disclose any sources of methods: McMaster said it was not possible for the president to disclose the source of the intelligence, because he wasn’t told the source. “The president wasn’t even aware, you know, where this information came from,” McMaster said. “He wasn’t briefed on the source or method of the information.” Before you conclude this was because the president wasn’t reading his intel briefs, it should be pointed out that briefing papers provided to top officials routinely do not includes sources.
The president was speaking off-the-cuff: “He made the decision in the context of the conversation,” McMaster said. “The president was emphasizing, ‘Hey, we have some common interests here. We have to work together in some critical areas.’”
The leak is the real problem: The fact that what the president says in a private meeting with foreign leaders is public knowledge a few day later does jeopardize national security and erodes the president’s confidence in the intelligence community. “I think national security is put at risk by this leak and by leaks like this,” McMaster said. “I think it’s important to investigate these sort of things and to make sure that we have trusted organizations across our government that allows for the free sharing of information and collaboration.”
Other countries can still rely on the U.S. to keep secrets: Asked if countries might stop sharing sensitive intelligence with the U.S., McMaster replied “No, I’m not concerned at all.” Israel, which was reported to be the source of the information Trump shared with the Russians has said it has “full confidence” in its intelligence-sharing relationship with U.S. And Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, speaking to reporters yesterday on the steps of the Pentagon, said he is “not worried” about any backlash. Mattis noted he had discussions yesterday with three allies, including two NATO nations, and said the question “never even came up.”
OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE: Just a few hours later, the White House was rocked by the revelation that fired FBI Director James Comey was keeping notes about potentially questionable exchanges with the president. The contents of Comey’s CYA memo to himself was leaked to the New York Times, which said it showed Trump urged Comey to drop the investigation of his national security adviser, Mike Flynn, who Trump had just fired for misleading the vice president. “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Trump reportedly told Comey after pulling him aside for a private conversation. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”
The potential that the president might have tried to shut down an FBI probe of his close friend reignited the firestorm, and resulted in calls in Congress for Comey to testify, and for his notes to be turned over to congressional investigators. The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, demanded that the FBI turn over all “memoranda, notes, summaries and recordings” of discussions between Trump and Comey.
THE ‘I’ WORD: So far members of Congress have been reticent to talk about impeachment, especially when so much is unknown and media reports are based largely on anonymous sources. But Independent Sen. Angus King said yesterday it now must be considered. “I say it with sadness and reluctance,” King told CNN. “This is not something I advocated for and the word has not passed my lips in this tumultuous three, four months.”
And last night Sen. John McCain, never in Trump’s fan club, said allegations against the president Trump have reached a “Watergate size and scale.”
LOCK THEM UP: The Times report shows the president continues to see leaks about questionable conduct to be a bigger problem than the underlying conduct itself, and would like to see some journalists go to jail, not just the government officials who leak to them. From the Times story: “Alone in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump began the discussion by condemning leaks to the news media, saying that Mr. Comey should consider putting reporters in prison for publishing classified information, according to one of Mr. Comey’s associates.”
REINFORCEMENTS TO THE WHITE HOUSE: The embattled White House communications team, which has been struggling under the almost daily assaults of fresh crises, will be getting some help from an old hand at the Pentagon. Tara Rigler, deputy director of press operations at the Pentagon is being deployed across. She will be replaced at the Pentagon by Mark Wright, who has just recently left the Pentagon Press Office for the Missile Defense Agency.
Good Wednesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten) and Senior Editor David Brown (@dave_brown24). Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter @dailyondefense.
HAPPENING TODAY: Less than 24 hours after she was sworn in on the steps of the Pentagon’s River entrance, newly installed Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson has a command performance on Capitol Hill. Wilson is scheduled to testify before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces this afternoon alongside Air Force Chief Gen. David Goldfein and two other generals to discuss military space organization, policy and programs.
Mattis administered the oath of office to Wilson under bright sunny skies, and with the strains of a military band. Mattis praised Wilson, a former New Mexico congresswoman, who is only the second appointee nominated by Trump to win Senate confirmation. “I need your ideas,” Mattis said during the at-times emotional ceremony. “If we wanted to do one thing to Webster’s unabridged dictionary to define a patriot, with no words we could put up Heather Wilson’s picture right next to the word and we would explain what a patriot truly is,” Mattis said.
HAPPENING FRIDAY: The Pentagon has tentatively scheduled the counter-ISIS progress report, promised by the president, for Friday at 1:30 p.m. The genesis of the briefing, according to sources, was an upbeat assessment Mattis gave Trump on how the war is going that prompted the president to decide the American public should hear the same thing. Pentagon officials said the briefing Friday will not be a rollout of any new anti-ISIS strategy, but rather more of a standard operational update that will be familiar to anyone who has been paying attention to what’s happening in Iraq and Syria. Mattis will be the headliner, but he will be joined by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, and a familiar name from the Obama administration Brett McGurk, who continues to serve as a special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS at the State Department.
ALL SMILES, BUT DIFFERENCES REMAIN: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Trump yesterday that the United States’ decision to back Syrian Kurds in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria “will never be accepted,” during a joint press conference in which the two leaders otherwise lavished praise on each other.
Trump made no mention of Erdogan’s complaints, and instead pledged continued cooperation with the NATO ally. “We support Turkey in the … fight against … terror groups like ISIS and the PKK, and ensure they have no safe quarter, the terror groups,” Trump said. “We’re going to have a lot of great success over the next coming years. And we want to get as many to help fight terrorism as possible, and that’s one of the beautiful things that’s happening with Turkey. … The relationship that we have together will be unbeatable.”
MINOR CARRIER DELAY: The USS Ronald Reagan steamed out of port in Japan on Tuesday following a short delay related to a repair issue. After a long maintenance hiatus, the carrier was on its way to eventually relieve the Carl Vinson strike group, which was mustered to the region in April amid growing concern over North Korea missile tests.
The movements of the Vinson caused a minor scandal for the Trump administration after it failed to shoot down a public perception that the carrier, two destroyers and a cruiser were off the coast of North Korea when they were in fact thousands of miles away. After a patrol and joint exercises in the western Pacific, Vinson is scheduled to return to San Diego in June.
WHAT DEFENSE BUILDUP? Those looking for a boost to shipbuilding and fighter jet procurement in Trump’s upcoming defense budget might be disappointed, according to Bloomberg. Officials told the news service it will include just one additional ship — a Navy destroyer — and no more aircraft than what was projected under the Obama administration. That means 70 Lockheed Martin F-35 joint strike fighters and 14 Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets. The White House is expected to release its full 2018 budget plan on Tuesday.
CHELSEA MANNING FREE: The Army private formerly known as Bradley Manning — convicted in 2013 of violation of the Espionage Act, theft and computer fraud for providing hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks — gets out of prison today. Manning, who transitioned while behind bars to Chelsea Manning, was granted clemency by President Obama in his final days in office. When the transgender soldier is released today from the U.S. military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas sometime today, she will have served seven years of her 35-year sentence.
RUSSIAN USES FOR U.S. NEWSPAPER: The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry had some choice words for the U.S. news outlets reporting that Trump provided classified intelligence to two of its officials last week. “Guys, have you been reading American papers again? Don’t read them,” Maria Zakharova wrote on Facebook on Tuesday. “They can be used for different things but not for reading.”
Despite Zakharova’s mistaken impression that much of the U.S. news is still printed, her social media musings seemed to get an official stamp of approval when they were tweeted out by the Russian embassy. She also mocked complaints that Russian state media was allowed into Trump’s meeting with the Russian ambassador and foreign minister but U.S. press was barred.
“The plan was also to dress it up with ‘top secret’ photos from the meeting, which would make another fake news look valid and reliable,” Zakharova wrote. “But we ruined this part of the media campaign by publishing the photos in line with the professional ethics standards.”
SCHUMER’S FLOOR SPEECH: After the New York Times report alleging Trump urged Comey to drop the investigation of Flynn, Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer gave the following short speech on the Senate floor:
“Mr. President, in a week full of revelation after revelation, on a day when we thought things couldn’t get any worse, they have. I was shaken by the report in the New York Times that alleged that the president tried to shut down an active FBI investigation into a close political associate. And we are only one day removed from stunning allegations that the president may have divulged classified information to a known adversary. Concerns about our national security, the rule of law, the independence of our nation’s highest law enforcement agencies are mounting. The country is being tested in unprecedented ways. I say to all of my colleagues in the Senate: history is watching.”
THE RUNDOWN
Politico: Ex-acting CIA chief: Foreign countries may ‘pause’ sharing intel with us
The Daily Beast: McMaster does his best Sean Spicer impression
Wall Street Journal: U.S. hacker linked to fake Macron documents, says cybersecurity firm
USNI News: Defense Minister: Japan Considering Purchasing Aegis Ashore Following North Korean ICBM Test
New York Times: Focus turns to North Korea sleeper cells as possible culprits in cyberattack
Defense One: U.S. forces aren’t working with Russians against ISIS, SOCOM chief says
Reuters: Expansion of ban on larger electronics on airlines likely: U.S.
Foreign Policy: When Will Trump’s ‘Mad Dog’ Get Put Down?
USA Today: Iraqi official: ISIS ‘on brink of defeat’
Marine Corps Times: New Marine artillery unit arrives in Syria ahead of Raqqa offensive
AP: Syria denies U.S. allegations of mass killings as ‘new Hollywood plot’
Defense News: ‘Performance enhancing drugs’ considered for Special Operations soldiers
Military.com: The graying of a fleet: ‘Tired iron’ needs total force boost
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | MAY 17
8 a.m. 300 1st St. SE. A discussion with Gen. Robin Rand, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, on nuclear deterrent modernization. mitchellaerospacepower.org
10 a.m. Rayburn 2118. Setting the path for streamlining and improving defense acquisition. armedservices.house.gov
10 a.m. Dirksen 342. Business meeting. hsgac.senate.gov
10 a.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. Is strategic competition in Southern Asia an arms race or modernization? stimson.org
10:30 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Drivers of insecurity and instability in the Middle East and South Asia. wilsoncenter.org
11 a.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The rise of America’s special operations forces with scholar and author Mark Moyar. heritage.org
1 p.m. 1152 15th St. NW. How the Defense Department can evolve and adapt the force for an uncertain future. cnas.org
2 p.m. Russell 222. Military space organization, policy and programs with testimony from Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Gen. David Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff. armed-services.senate.gov
2 p.m. Rayburn 2247. Combating homegrown terrorism. oversight.house.gov
2 p.m. Rayburn 2200. Threats to peace and stability in the Balkans with Hoyt Brian Yee, deputy assistant secretary of state. foreignaffairs.house.gov
2 p.m. Dirksen 419. Nomination of Scott Brown to be ambassador to New Zealand. foreign.senate.gov
3:30 p.m. Rayburn 2118. Four service personnel chiefs testify on the military’s personnel posture for fiscal 2018. armedservices.house.gov
3:30 p.m. Russell 232-A. Retired Lt. Gen. John Bednarek and retired Maj. Gen. Robert Scales testify on military small arms requirements. armed-services.senate.gov
THURSDAY | MAY 18
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The Marshall Plan at 70 with H.E. Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s federal minister for foreign affairs. csis.org
9:30 a.m. Dirksen G50. Defense Department nominations for principal deputy under secretary for intelligence; assistant secretary for international security affairs; assistant secretary for homeland defense and global security; and Army general counsel. armed-services.senate.gov
9:30 a.m. Dirksen 419. Nomination of William Francis Hagerty IV to be ambassador to Japan. foreign.senate.gov
10:30 a.m. 1667 K St. NW. Katherine Blakeley previews the Trump administration’s fiscal 2018 budget request. csbaonline.org
2 p.m. Rayburn 2212. Defense analyst Jesse Sloman on amphibious warfare in a contested environment. armedservices.house.gov
2 p.m. House Capitol Visitors Center 210. Critical canine contributions to the Department of Homeland Security mission. homeland.house.gov
2:30 p.m. Dirksen 419. Strengthening democracy and countering malign foreign influence in the Balkans with Hoyt Brian Yee, deputy assistant secretary of state. foreign.senate.gov
6:30 p.m. 1250 South Hayes St. Rep. Mac Thornberry, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, receives the Dwight D. Eisenhower Award. ndia.org
FRIDAY | MAY 19
8 a.m. 300 1st St. SE. Maj. Gen. Michael Fortney, vice commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, discusses strategic deterrence. mitchellaerospacepower.org
9 a.m. Rayburn 2118. Fiscal Year 2018 priorities and posture of the national security space enterprise. armedservices.house.gov
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Defense innovation in a change-resistant ecosystem. csis.org
12 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Paul A. Rahe, an historian of political philosophy, examines how ancient Sparta stood firm against a great empire. heritage.org
1 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Why should the United States care about Ukraine? csis.org
MONDAY | MAY 22
11 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Avenue N.W. Rep. Mac Thornberry on military readiness, modernization, and innovation. brookings.edu
TUESDAY | MAY 23
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. A full day conference on civil-military relations in policy, politics and public with retired Adm. Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. csis.org
9:30 a.m. Dirksen G-50. Worldwide threats with Dan Coats, director of national intelligence, and Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. armed-services.senate.gov
11:30 a.m. 800 16th St. NW. A dialogue with Canadian Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan. cabc.co
2:30 p.m. Senate Visitors Center 217. Closed hearing on Navy readiness challenges, emerging threats, and the 355-ship force objective. armed-services.senate.gov
4:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Debate on the modernization of nuclear missiles with retired Gen. C. Robert Kehler, former head of U.S. Strategic Command. csis.org
WEDNESDAY | MAY 24
1800 Jefferson Davis Hwy. Breakfast keynote by Vice Adm. Terry Benedict, director of the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs. navyleague.org
9:30 a.m. Russell 232-A. Industry perspectives from Brian Cuccias of Huntington Ingalls, John Casey of General Dynamics, and Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council Of America, on options and considerations for achieving a 355-ship Navy. armed-services.senate.gov
10 a.m. House 140. Testimony from Gen. Joseph Lengyel, commander of the National Guard Bureau, and the chiefs of the reserve military forces. appropriations.house.gov
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. The Russian military of 2035. csis.org
11 a.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. Examining the strategic implications of Trump’s first budget. stimson.org
12 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The threats and challenges of the South Caucasus region for the Trump administration. heritage.org
2 p.m. Hart 216. The Kremlin’s gas games in Europe and the implications for policy makers, with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. atlanticcouncil.org
2:30 p.m. Dirksen G-50. Department of Energy atomic defense activities and programs. armed-services.senate.gov
