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After the deadly concert arena attack in Manchester, British authorities began their investigation and identified the suspected suicide bomber as Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old Briton whose parents emigrated from Libya. U.K. police had not yet confirmed his identity publicly, but Abedi’s name showed up in American press reports citing “U.S. officials” as the source of the information.
As a result of the released name of the bombing suspect and the publication of forensic photographs by American press, police investigating the Manchester terrorist attack have reportedly stopped sharing information with the U.S.
In a televised address, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she would raise the issue with President Trump when they meet at Thursday’s NATO summit. “I will be making clear to President Trump today that intelligence that is shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure,” the prime minister stated.
A number of other U.S. and British officials condemned the leaks, with some expressing concern over the impact the incident will have on the two nations’ intelligence partnership, one of the closest in the world.
President Trump vowed to launch an investigation into the leaks, which he said are “coming out of government agencies” and are “deeply troubling.”
“These leaks have been going on for a long time and my administration will get to the bottom of this,” Trump said.
After receiving “fresh assurances” from the United States, British police reported on Thursday that they have resumed information sharing with U.S. authorities.
Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee spoke to British officials and confirmed that they were “very upset” about the leak.
Officials were most disturbed that the name of the bomber was released. “We’re obviously dealing with a network. This is not a lone-wolf situation,” McCaul told Sinclair Broadcast Group.
“So when you have a network and you release the name of the bomber, the rest of them will either go underground, or their biggest fear is they’ll set another bomb off,” he explained. “Fortunately that hasn’t happened.”
Prime Minister May raised the threat level in the country to “critical,” deploying up to 5,000 soldiers in the streets out of fear that Abedi was working as part of a broader network that could strike again imminently. By Thursday, authorities had arrested eight individuals suspected to be linked to the attack, including Abedi’s brother Hashem, who was believed to have ties to ISIS.
The release of the bomber’s name in Manchester was a prime example of what many officials are concerned about, that leaked information will result in a national security incident or loss of life.
Even more concerning, however, is that the regular disclosures show no signs of stopping. McCaul noted, “I have never seen leaks this extensive in any White House.”
This pattern of disclosures is putting strains on the White House and could damage both Trump’s credibility and that of the United States.
As Trump was preparing to depart for his first overseas trip last week, The New York Times released a bombshell report alleging that Trump had revealed “highly classified” information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador during an Oval Office meeting. Within 24-hours, the Times published a follow-up, saying the classified information had been provided to the U.S. by Israel. Both reports cited “a current and a former American government official” familiar with the matters.
On Wednesday, the Times dropped another report based on a leaked transcript of Trump’s phone call last week with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The leaked transcript reportedly shocked the Pentagon, because the president appeared to have discussed the movement of two U.S. nuclear submarines off the Korean Peninsula.
According to Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) these leaks are an indication that there is at least some element within the intelligence community intends to hurt the president.
“Somebody in the intelligence community or law enforcement broke the law to hurt the president,” King stated, referring to a Thursday morning headline based on leaked intelligence. “Somebody broke the law today and The New York Times of course encouraged that by putting it on page one.”
King continued that there are “obviously” certain people within the intelligence community who are out to get Trump. “How else would you get this story on the front page of the New York Times today of secret transcripts of phone conversations?”
Some in government are growing concerned that after the Manchester incident, the constant U.S. intelligence leaks could make America’s partners less willing to share information.
“The coin of the realm in the intelligence field is getting the most valuable information possible,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told reporters, emphasizing that intelligence sharing is “too important” a matter to be politicized.
He went on to advise that if a partner or ally does not feel comfortable sharing information, “that can be a significant obstacle in terms of dealing with the worldwide terror threat.”
So far, there have been no direct indications that the U.S. intelligence partnerships were jeopardized as a result of the leaks. Israeli and British leaders both indicated publicly that their relationships with the United States remain strong and emphasized the importance of trust in continuing the intelligence partnership.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was confronted by reporters in Brussels who asked if the Manchester leak would be a blow to the Alliance’s latest efforts to enhance intelligence sharing among the 28 member states.
“Sharing intelligence is based on trust,” he said. “We have seen in NATO over many, many years that we have been able to share intelligence in a good way. And that has been of great importance for the Alliance and for all Allies.”
Even as Trump assured Prime Minister May that his administration would root out the sources of the latest intelligence leaks, his previous demands to “find the leakers” have gone unfulfilled.
On numerous occasions, President Trump has suggested that the leaks are coming from within the government agencies. He has directly implicated the intelligence community as a whole, the FBI in particular and even suggested his former acting Attorney General Sally Yates could be the source of some disclosures.
Sen. John McCain was pressed by reporters to speculate on the source of the leaks, but shied away from pitting the blame on any particular agency.
“I do know it’s somebody who has an agenda either to help themselves or to hurt somebody,” he said. “The leaks are done by people who want to pursue their agenda … Leaks are because people have their own agenda and they want to pursue it.”
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) noted that the information being released is meant to deal a direct blow to the administration, and based on the nature of the reports, can only come from a few sources.
“I think an element within the intelligence community has for months now been out to get President Trump,” King noted, “and they are undermining this presidency.”
The congressman advised Trump to “purge” the holdovers from the Obama administration, commenting, “Better to be short-handed than to have people that are working for the other side.”
Much of the damaging information coming from unnamed sources in the government has dealt with alleged collusion between members of the Trump presidential campaign and the Russian government. Currently the matter is being investigated by a special counsel, led by Robert Mueller. Since the investigation began in late July, senior intelligence officials have not been able to confirm any Trump-Russia collusion, though the probe is still in a relatively early phase.
Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) warned that the constant stream of disclosures surrounding the Russia investigation are a threat to national security and those responsible should be “prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
“It’s the one thing we know in terms of a crime that’s been committed are these leaks,” Johnson noted. “So I hope that’s part of the special counsel’s investigation.”
