Dem senator: Trump would leak classified information

by Jordain Carney - 05/05/16 2:53 PM ET

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is raising concerns about giving Donald Trump access to classified intelligence, saying the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee would leak information.

“He wouldn’t think twice of taking classified information and putting it out in the public realm if he thought it served his political purposes,” Murphy told BuzzFeed.

{mosads}Presidential nominees routinely get classified briefings ahead of the election as part of the transition process.

James Clapper, director of National Intelligence, told reporters during a Christian Science Monitor breakfast last week that there’s already an “established plan” for briefing the parties’ candidates once they are selected.

Murphy, however, said Trump has “no moral or ethical grounding” and said he was particularly concerned about Russia, where Trump has praised President Vladimir Putin.

“Megalomaniacs find each other, I guess. I suspect Trump looks at Putin and sees a lot of himself,” he added. “You can just feel Putin reeling Trump in right now.”

Trump has repeatedly complimented Putin, suggesting they would work well together, including in Syria.

“I’ve always felt fine about Putin,” he told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” late last year. “I think that he’s a strong leader.”

While Murphy, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, hasn’t shied away from criticizing Trump, his foreign policy plans have drawn criticism from both parties. Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have said they get asked about Trump and the election during trips overseas.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Thursday that the White House isn’t involved in the decisions about the classified briefings given to candidates.

“The decision about what information to provide is a decision that will be made by the intelligence community. The White House will not be interfering in the decisions that are made by the intelligence community to provide information to the presidential candidates,” he said.

Earnest said the White House has confidence in Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton’s ability to receive classified briefings, despite an ongoing investigation into her use of a private email server while she was secretary of State.

He would not say the same when asked about Trump.

“Again, we’ll have to see what decision the director of national intelligence makes. … I can’t offer my own assessment. Secretary Clinton has obviously served this administration with distinction. And she’s got a lot of experience in understanding the need to protect classified information.”

Julian Hattem and Jordan Fabian contributed.

Tags Chris Murphy Donald Trump Donald Trump Hillary Clinton James R. Clapper Lindsey Graham Tim Kaine