CREW requests CIA records on Trump meeting with Lavrov and Kislyak
CREW requests:
- Records documenting and/or confirming a telephone call or calls between Thomas P. Bossert, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, and Central Intelligence Agency’s (“CIA”) Director Mike Pompeo and/or any other CIA official concerning the meeting President Donald Trump had with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on May 10, 2017;
- Documents relating to and reflecting the information President Trump shared with Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Kislyak during their May 10, 2017, meeting including, but not limited to, common threats that both Russia and the United States face from terrorist organizations; and
- Transcripts or other recordings of President Trump’s May 10, 2017, meeting with Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Kislyak
As has now been widely reported, during his May 10, 2017, meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, President Trump revealed highly classified code-word information to the two men derived, at least in part, from an intelligence-sharing arrangement with an unidentified U.S. ally.
The revelation of the President’s discussions with Russia on such highly sensitive subjects has created a maelstrom within the Executive Branch, Congress, and the public at large. The public has an urgent and compelling need to confirm the veracity of the White House’s statements that Mr. Trump’s actions did not place intelligence sources and methods in peril and risk depriving the United States of a vital source of information in our war on terror. The public deserves to know whether, when, and to what extent the CIA was aware of the President’s disclosure of previously highly classified information.
Update: On May 17, 2017, granted expedited processing of this FOIA request.
Update: On March 14, 2018, CREW filed a lawsuit challenging the refusal of the NSA and the failure of the CIA to disclose to CREW pursuant to the FOIA records relating to the meeting President Trump had with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on May 10, 2017. Read more about the lawsuit here.