Donald Trump Under Microscope For Israeli Intelligence Leak That May Have Aided Hamas
Former President Donald Trump is under scrutiny for intelligence from Israel that he passed to Russia in 2017. Authorities worry
Tristan Green
Former President Donald Trump is under scrutiny for intelligence from Israel that he passed to Russia in 2017. Authorities worry that Russia may have given that info to an ally. And that it made its way from there to Hamas, the violent regime in control of Palestine.
Hamas launched an offensive against Israel over the weekend. And the question of where they got intelligence that helped them plan their attack may haunt the Republican hopeful ahead of the 2024 election.
Trump Gave Intel To Russian Officials In 2017
In 2017, Donald Trump was President and he was discharging his duty as Commander in Chief. That meant meeting with officials and leaders from other countries. And sharing appropriate intelligence between allies.
But Trump often went off-script as President, and 2017’s meeting with Russia was no exception. In May of 2017, Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. According to US intelligence officials, Trump shared classified information with those Russian officials regarding the Islamic State militant group (ISIS). The intelligence was gathered by a United States Ally – Israel.
At the time, national security experts worried that Russia could threaten future operations. And the source of that intelligence, which is Israel. Russia is a known ally of Iran, which has openly and not-so-openly supported Hamas over the years. The same Hamas who launched an attack against Israel over the weekend. Trump was also said to have boasted, “I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel every day.”
It’s currently unclear if the info that Donald Trump shared with Russian officials impacted the attack on Israel by Hamas. But US officials seem to be looking into it.
Donald Trump Under Microscope For Intelligence Leak On Israel That May Have Aided Hamas
Hamas apparently knew how to get around Israel’s Iron Dome defenses. They probably learned this from Iran. Iran almost certainly got the information from Russia. And who gave it to Russia? Sure looks like it was Donald Trump, at the request of Putin: https://t.co/dDrVhVNWqx
— Thom Hartmann (@Thom_Hartmann) October 8, 2023
An author and political commentator by the name of Thom Hartmann shared quotes from a 2017 Washington Post article about the intelligence leak to X, once known as Twitter. Hartmann wrote, “Hamas apparently knew how to get around Israel’s Iron Dome defenses. They probably learned this from Iran. Iran almost certainly got the information from Russia. And who gave it to Russia? Sure looks like it was Donald Trump, at the request of Putin.”
And Allison Gill, who writes for the X podcast account Mueller, She Wrote, mused on X, “Don’t forget: Trump gave Israeli intelligence to Russians in the Oval Office 6 years ago. Putin armed Iran in exchange for drones to attack Ukraine.”
So far, the US has not openly suggested that Iran, and therefore Trump’s leaked intelligence, contributed to the attack on Israel. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinkin told CNN on Monday, “We have not yet seen evidence that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack, but there is certainly a long relationship.” A relationship that officials will be digging into in the coming days.
Donald Trump is already under federal indictment for the improper storage of classified documents. And linking his cavalier behavior with an attack like this could well sink the 2024 hopeful‘s Presidential plans.