Some members of Maine’s Congressional Delegation are reacting with shock and dismay to a report that President Donald Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian officials in a meeting last week.
Independent Sen. Angus King, who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, posted his reaction on Twitter.
“If true, this report is very troubling,” he writes, in a series of three tweets. “Jeopardizing the sources and methods that support our intelligence gathering apparatus or those of an ally, are of grave concern. Furthermore, it could result in the loss of important intelligence sources and the cooperation of partners.”
King sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is looking into any links between the Trump campaign and Russia.
King’s colleague, Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, is also a member of the Intelligence Committee. In a statement issued Tuesday morning, Collins called the report, first published Monday in the Washington Post, “troubling.”
“The disclosure of highly classified information has the potential to jeopardize sources and to discourage our allies from sharing future information vital to our security,” she said.
“Although the President has the legal authority to disclose classified information, it would be very troubling if he did share such sensitive reporting with the Russians,” she added. “The Senate Intelligence Committee should be briefed on this important issue immediately.”
Collins made note of conflicting accounts of the president’s meeting with Russian officials, but later Tuesday, President Trump himself, in a series of tweets, acknowledged that he had “shared with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to step up their fight against ISIS and terrorism.”
On the House side, Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine’s 1st District released a statement saying the revelations are “shocking, unprecedented, and unpresidential - and have the American public and Congress questioning President Trump’s allegiance to our nation.
“It’s time we knew the full extent of his relationship with the Russian government.” Pingree writes. “And with no one to head the investigation at the FBI and the House Intelligence Committee failing to remain independent, it’s time to turn the probe over to an outside commission. Unless we have an independent commission in place, incidents like those reported tonight by the Washington Post will continue to occur without explanation until there are major consequences for our national security.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin of Maine’s 2nd District says it’s not yet clear what happened, but he would have concerns about the report if it’s true.
“It is critical to safeguard our nation’s classified information, and any violation of that by an Administration is extremely concerning,” Poliquin wrote in a statement emailed to Maine Public Tuesday morning. “Right now we have insufficient information on what really did, or did not, happen.”
This story was updated at 8:26 a.m.