Donald Trump has retweeted a Fox News report based on anonymous US intelligence sources, despite his attorney general’s pledge to clamp down on government leaks.
The president retweeted a story that said US spy agencies had detected North Korea “loading two anti-ship cruise missiles on a patrol boat on the country’s east coast just days ago”. The story was attributed to anonymous US officials.
Mr Trump has repeatedly complained about leaks of government information to the press. Last week, attorney general Jeff Sessions vowed to crack down, arguing that such leaks could harm national security.
U.S. spy satellites detect North Korea moving anti-ship cruise missiles to patrol boat https://t.co/BPFXsLffgy
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) August 8, 2017
Asked about the story on Fox & Friends, UN ambassador Nikki Haley said: “I can’t talk about anything that’s classified and if that’s in a newspaper, that’s a shame.”
It is unclear if the information is classified. The US military routinely discloses information about North Korean missile movements and launches. The type of missile movements in the story appears fairly routine.
Pressed on whether this was a leak, Ms Haley said: “It’s one of these things I don’t know what’s going on. But I will tell you that it’s incredibly dangerous when things get out into the press like that.”
The White House did not respond to questions about why Mr Trump retweeted the story or whether he was confirming the information.
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