From behind a paywall, The Wall Street Journal reports that Spies Keep Intelligence From Donald Trump on Leak Concerns:
U.S. intelligence officials have withheld sensitive intelligence from President Donald Trump because they are concerned it could be leaked or compromised, according to current and former officials familiar with the matter.
The officials’ decision to keep information from Mr. Trump underscores the deep mistrust that has developed between the intelligence community and the president over his team’s contacts with the Russian government, as well as the enmity he has shown toward U.S. spy agencies. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump accused the agencies of leaking information to undermine him. [...]
Reporters Shane Harris and Carol E. Lee say their unnamed sources told them that in some of these instances the withheld information had to do with “sources and methods” used to gather information. This has happened sometimes with other presidents, too. However, in those previous instances, the current and former officials said, the withholding was not done because intelligence officers were motivated by mistrust in a president or fears about his lack of discretion as is the case with Trump:
Mr. Trump doesn’t immerse himself in intelligence information, and it isn’t clear that he has expressed a desire to know sources and methods. The intelligence agencies have been told to dramatically pare down the president’s daily intelligence briefing, both the number of topics and how much information is described under each topic, an official said. Compared with his immediate predecessors, Mr. Trump so far has chosen to rely less on the daily briefing than they did.
There are also concerns about the relationship between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Journal’s sources. But are these just speculative concerns, or do some of these intelligence withholders possess verified information about the parameters of that relationship which gives them serious reason to worry?
One former intelligence official who was named in the story, Mark Lowenthal, said:
“It’s probably unprecedented to have this difficult a relationship between a president and the intelligence agencies,” Mr. Lowenthal said. “I can’t recall ever seeing this level of friction. And it’s just not good for the country.”
Just as is the case on a whole range of matters with Trump sitting behind the big desk in the Oval Office.
There are all kinds of trust/mistrust intersections in this story. It’s The Wall Street Journal; it’s intelligence agencies, some of which have a decidedly dark history; and it’s former and current officials some of whom are sure to have a personal agenda. So do some reporters.
Good reporters get as many sources as possible in the time frame allowed to corroborate the others. We don’t know (because they don’t tell us) how many “current and former officials” they actually talked to.
It’s always wise to be skeptical when agents and ex-agents of the CIA or FBI or other intelligence agencies are talking—especially from behind a shield of anonymity. However, at least on the surface this story makes sense. It could fall apart. But having the White House declare that this isn’t true is the least trustworthy claim.