After touching down in Brussels on Thursday, President Donald Trump wasted no time in condemning the "alleged leaks" from US officials regarding the UK's investigation of the Manchester bombing attack that killed 22 people on Monday, the Washington Post reports.
Just hours after the bomb detonated, the name of the suspected attacker and photos from the scene were allegedly leaked to the media—sensitive information the UK claims it shared with the US in confidence. Following the reports, the Manchester police then decided they would stop sharing any information regarding the bombing investigation with the US, according to the BBC.
"When that trust is breached it undermines these relationships, and undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses, and their families," Britain's National Police Chiefs' Council said in a statement. "This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorized disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter terrorism investigation."
After Theresa May told reporters on Thursday that she would "make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure," Trump released his own statement, calling for the Department of Justice to launch a "complete review."
"The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security," Trump said in a statement Thursday. "I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. There is no relationship we cherish more than the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom."
The statement is somewhat hypocritical, considering Trump reportedly shared highly classified Israeli intelligence with Russian officials about an ISIS terror threat recently. As president, Trump has the broad authority to disclose information to whomever he wants, regardless of how classified it is. Yet, that leak not only put the intelligence operative's life in risk, but also reportedly altered the way Israel now shares intel with America.
For its part, the New York Times did not disclose its source and defended its editorial decision to publish the photos in a statement on Thursday.
"The images and information presented were neither graphic nor disrespectful of victims, and consistent with the common line of reporting on weapons used in horrific crimes, as the Times and other media outlets have done following terrorist acts around the world, from Boston to Paris to Baghdad, and many places in between."
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