Overnight Defense: Trump reportedly asked Comey to end Flynn probe | McMaster says Trump didn’t know intel source | Why the Navy is dropping ‘goddamned steam’ catapults
THE TOPLINE: TRUMP ASKED COMEY TO END FLYNN INVESTIGATION: Trump asked former FBI Director James Comey to end the federal investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn in February, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
Comey wrote in a memo shortly after the meeting that Trump told him “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” the report said.
The meeting reportedly took place one day after Flynn resigned. Corey’s memo was part of an effort to create a paper trail documenting Trump’s influence on the investigation.
The White House denied the memo’s version of events in a statement to the Times, writing: “This is not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between the president and Mr. Comey.”
The Hill’s Jordan Fabian has more on the report here.
The Times report sparked a new firestorm.
House Oversight Committeee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said he would be open to subpoenaing the Comey memos.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who chairs a Senate Judiciary subcommittee, asked Comey to testify.
Dem lawmakers voiced outrage over the claims, with some ramping up calls for a special prosecutor to investigate alleged Trump campaign ties to Russia. Others questioned if the president’s actions with Comey amounted to obstruction of justice.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the country was “being tested in unprecedented ways.”
And Independent Sen. Angus King (Maine) said “reluctantly” that impeachment could be on the table.
THE OTHER BIG STORY…
WHITE HOUSE DEFENDS SHARING INFO WITH RUSSIA
The White House on Tuesday tried to contain the fallout from reports that President Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian officials continued on Tuesday.
President Trump started the day by taking to Twitter. The Hill’s Jordan Fabian has the story: President Trump on Tuesday defended revealing sensitive information to top Russian diplomats, saying in pair of early morning tweets that he has an “absolute right” to do so.
Trump tweeted that he shared the information with the Russians for “[h]umanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism.”
He said he wanted to provide Russia with “facts pertaining…to terrorism and airline flight safety,” something that he has “the absolute right to do” as commander in chief.
Trump also vented his frustration that, once again, details from his conversations with foreign dignitaries leaked to the press.
Trump’s national security adviser also addressed reporters at the White House briefing, insisting the president did nothing wrong. More from Jordan:
National security adviser H.R. McMaster on Tuesday said President Trump did not jeopardize intelligence assets by revealing highly sensitive information to Russian officials, adding that Trump did not know where the intel came from.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, McMaster disputed the “premise” of media reports that Trump put intelligence sources in jeopardy by disclosing the information, saying it was “wholly appropriate” for the president to discuss.
“The president in no way undermined sources or methods in the course of this conversation,” he said, adding that the information could be found in “open-source reporting.”
McMaster said Trump could not have endangered national security because he did not even know the source of the information he discussed.
“The president wasn’t even aware of where this information came from,” he said. “He wasn’t briefed on the source.”
McMaster may have his own problems in the White House. A New York Times report claimed Trump had called the top adviser a “pain” who talked too much. More on that here.
DEM REACT: Those statements did little to calm Democrats. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called on Trump to provide Congress with “a transcript of the meeting with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador available to the congressional Intelligence Committees as soon as possible.”
He added that if Trump “has nothing to hide, he should direct that the transcript of the meeting be made available.”
The Hill’s Jordain Carney has more of the story here.
THE INTEL CAME FROM ISRAEL: Citing one current and one former official familiar with U.S. intelligence gathering, the Times reported on Tuesday that the information Trump shared with the Russian ambassador and foreign minister about a terror plot involving the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) came from the Israelis. Read more here.
One report claimed Israeli intelligence was “boiling mad” over the disclosures. Read more on that here. A European officials said their country might stop sharing some intel with the U.S. More on that here.
REPUBLICAN REACT: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that he isn’t concerned about Trump’s handling of classified information. The Hill’s Jordain Carney has the rest here.
But Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that “reports that the President shared sensitive intelligence with Russian officials are deeply disturbing.” Click here for more.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) said the White House needs to brief the Senate Intelligence Committee over the allegations. Read more here.
House Intel Committee members did get their own briefing on Tuesday from the head of the CIA. Read more here.
WHY THE NAVY IS SWITCHING FROM ‘GODDAMNED STEAM’ CATAPULTS: A digital launch system installed on the new USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier has become President Trump’s newest defense industry target.
Trump, who since December has bashed cost overruns in the Lockheed Martin-made F-35 fighter jet and the Boeing-produced Air Force One, recently turned his attention to the Navy’s Electro-Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS).
Rather than use EMALS, Trump said he told the Navy to return to “goddamned steam” catapult technology to launch aircraft from newly built aircraft carriers, according to an interview he did with Time magazine.
But switching the catapult system would cost the Navy millions of dollars extra on a ship already pegged at $12.9 billion, the most expensive vessel in U.S. history, according to defense experts.
GOP SENATORS URGE UN SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION ON NORTH KOREA: A trio of Republican senators is urging the U.N. Security Council to take “immediate and additional actions” against North Korea.
“We are encouraged by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting today to discuss the urgency of the threat posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK),” they wrote in a letter to the council Tuesday. “We urge the UNSC to take immediate and additional actions to increase the pressure on the DPRK and bring Pyongyang into full compliance with its international obligations.”
The letter was organized by Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and cosigned by Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).
The Security Council held an emergency meeting Tuesday afternoon in the wake of North Korea’s latest missile launch, which experts said represented a significant step forward in its quest for an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.
Read the rest here.
ON TAP FOR TOMORROW:
The House Armed Services Committee will have a hearing on the initial findings of a panel to streamline acquisition at 10 a.m. at the Rayburn House Office Building, room 2118. http://bit.ly/1XlBl5q
Newly confirmed Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson will join the service’s Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein and other top officials to testify at a Senate Armed Services subcommittee on military space organization, policy and programs at 2 p.m. at the Russell Senate Office Building, room 222. http://bit.ly/2qB5S8T
A House Foreign Affairs subcommittee will hold a hearing with outside experts discussing threats to peace and stability in Balkan countries at 2 p.m. at Rayburn 2200. http://bit.ly/2qdPrMl
The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on pending veterans health and benefit legislation at 2:30 p.m. at Russell 418. http://bit.ly/2qa8sBB
A House Armed Services subcommittee will have a hearing on military personnel at 3:30 p.m. at Rayburn 2118. http://bit.ly/1XlBl5q
A Senate Armed Services subcommittee will hold a hearing on U.S. military small arms requirements at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Russell 232A. http://bit.ly/2qam5ki
ICYMI:
— The Hill: Pentagon watchdog to review Air Force B-21 bomber’s secrecy: report
— The Hill: Schumer distances himself from Trump impeachment calls
— The Hill: GAO: Thousands discharged for military misconduct had mental health diagnosis
— The Hill: Haley: US might look at sanctions on countries aiding North Korea
— The Hill: South Korea: N. Korea ballistic missile program evolving faster than expected
— The Hill Trump will speak to Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia about radical Islam
— Defense News: US Air Force removes weight restrictions on F-35A pilots.
— Navy Times: Posting nudes online without consent will now get you kicked out of the Navy
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