White House wants briefing on classified Russia probe info, Giuliani says

Initially offered only to Republicans, the briefings were the latest piece of stagecraft meant to publicize and bolster the allegations. But they also highlighted the degree to which the president and his allies have used the levers of the federal government — in this case, intelligence agencies — to aid in Trump’s personal and political defense.

The presence of a White House lawyer, Emmet Flood, and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly at the outset of the briefings raised immediate alarms from Democrats, who said they were concerned officials could use information from the meetings to the president’s legal advantage.

They also said it was inappropriate for White House officials to attend any part of a meeting about a criminal investigation that directly concerns the president and his campaign. Some also questioned whether the presence of Flood and Kelly violated Justice Department policy meant to limit contacts with the White House to specific circumstances.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said in a statement on Friday night that Flood and Kelly “were there to relay the President’s desire for as much openness as possible under the law; and both left — as planned — before the substantive portion of the meeting began.” Giuliani said it would be appropriate for Trump to be briefed about the findings.

“He’s not the subject or target of that investigation. He should know what is discussed,” said Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City. “Moreover, I assume President Obama knew about it. And if Obama knew about it, why can’t Trump?”

Questions would likely be raised about the appropriateness of sharing the information with the White House in light of the ongoing probe into Trump’s campaign.

It was unclear how much information was given to lawmakers. According to a U.S. official familiar with the broader of the two meetings, the briefers did not reveal the name of the informant. They brought documents to Capitol Hill but did not share them, and made several remarks about the importance of protecting intelligence sources and methods. The person declined to be identified because the briefing was classified.

The president intensified his attacks on the probe this week, calling it “spygate” and tweeting Thursday that it was “Starting to look like one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history.” Trump told one ally this week that he wanted “to brand” the informant a “spy,” believing the more nefarious term would resonate more in the media and with the public.

Following Trump’s demands, the Justice Department on Monday directed the Inspector General to probe those accusations.

It remained unclear what, if any, spying was done. The White House provided no evidence to support Trump’s claim that President Barack Obama’s administration was trying to spy on his 2016 campaign for political reasons. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, an ardent Trump supporter, originally demanded the information on an FBI source in the Russia investigation.

Giuliani said the president’s legal team would wait to see a report out of the briefings before making a decision as to whether Trump would sit for an interview with Mueller’s investigators. He previously had said that a decision would not be made about an interview until after Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a meeting the president canceled Thursday but the White House is open to reviving.

“We’ll see about the future of the summit before we definitely make a decision about a timetable,” Giuliani said.