On Thursday morning, Donald Trump was publicly apprised of oncoming criticism by British Prime Minister Theresa May over a New York Times report that included photos of the Manchester bombing investigation. The pictures and related information were considered confidential, and no one really knows how the NY Times received this leak, but Trump appeared to receive some of the onus from officials in the U.K., especially May, who said she would “make clear” to Trump that intelligence leaks cannot happen.
Where Manchester is concerned, the live investigation is still ongoing, and the U.K. isn’t keen for this information to be released publicly and into the hands of terrorists, and so, the pressure was on Trump to address the matter. Of course, he’s also dealing with criticism of how he recently leaked Israeli intel about an ISIS plot and blabbed to Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte about nuclear subs that are situated near North Korea. Yet the White House put on its serious face and vowed that an investigation would happen by the DOJ:
“The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling. These leaks have been going on for a long time, and my administration will get to the bottom of this. The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security … I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and, if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The statement also includes a wee message about how the U.S. treasures its relationship with the U.K., along with the clear implication that the DOJ needs to step up and figure this out because, y’all, this is embarrassing. As for where this lines up with Trump’s previous statement — “The leaks are real, but the news is fake” — while trying to downplay the Russia scandal, well … it doesn’t. And since the Trump administration cannot even warn its own staff about leaking without seeing an instant leakfest in response, the DOJ has its work cut out for them on several levels.
(Via WhiteHouse.Gov)