Page 8A
NATION/WORLD
East Oregonian
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Trump’s use of private cellphone raises security concerns
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pres-
ident Donald Trump has been
handing out his cellphone number to
world leaders and urging them to call
him directly, an unusual invitation
that breaks diplomatic protocol and
is raising concerns about the security
and secrecy of the U.S. commander
in chief’s communications.
Trump has urged leaders of
Canada and Mexico to reach him on
his cellphone, according to former
and current U.S. officials with direct
knowledge of the practice. Of the
two, only Canadian Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau has taken advantage
of the offer so far, the officials said.
Trump also exchanged numbers
with French President Emmanuel
Macron when the two spoke
immediately following Macron’s
victory earlier this month, according
to a French official, who would
not comment on whether Macron
intended to use the line.
All the officials demanded
anonymity because they were not
authorized to reveal the conver-
sations. Neither the White House
nor Trudeau’s office responded to
requests for comment.
The notion of world leaders
calling each other up via cellphone
may seem unremarkable in the
modern, mobile world. But in the
diplomatic arena, where leader-to-
leader calls are highly orchestrated
affairs, it is another notable breach
of protocol for a president who has
expressed distrust of official chan-
nels. The formalities and discipline
of diplomacy have been a rough fit
for Trump — who, before taking
office, was long easily accessible
by cellphone and viewed himself as
freewheeling, impulsive dealmaker.
Presidents generally place calls
on one of several secure phone lines,
including those in the White House
Situation Room, the Oval Office or
the presidential limousine. Even if
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File
In this March file photo, President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval
Office of the White House in Washington. Trump has been handing
out his cellphone number to world leaders and urging them to call
him directly, an unusual invitation that breaks diplomatic protocol
and is raising concerns about the security and secrecy of the U.S.
commander in chief’s communications.
Trump uses his government-issued
cellphone, his calls are vulnerable
to eavesdropping, particularly from
foreign governments, national secu-
rity experts say.
“If you are speaking on an open
line, then it’s an open line, meaning
those who have the ability to monitor
those conversations are doing
so,” said Derek Chollet, a former
Pentagon adviser and National
Security Council official now at
the German Marshall Fund of the
United States.
A president “doesn’t carry with
him a secure phone,” Chollet said.
“If someone is trying to spy on
you, then everything you’re saying,
you have to presume that others are
listening to it.”
The caution is warranted even
when dealing with allies. As German
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s learned
in 2013, when a dump of American
secrets leaked by Edward Snowden
revealed the U.S. was monitoring
her cellphone, good relations don’t
prevent some spycraft between
friends.
“If you are Macron or the leader
of any country and you get the
cellphone number of the president
of the United States, it’s reasonable
to assume that they’d hand it right
over to their intel service,” said
Ashley Deeks, a law professor at the
University of Virginia who formerly
served as the assistant legal adviser
for political-military affairs in the
U.S. State Department.
The practice opens Trump up to
charges of hypocrisy. Throughout
last year’s presidential campaign, he
lambasted Democratic rival Hillary
Clinton for using a private email
server while she was secretary of
state, insisting she should not be
given access to classified infor-
mation because she would leave it
vulnerable to foreign foes.
Presidents’ phone calls with world
leaders often involve considerable
advance planning. State Department
and National Security Council
officials typically prepare scripted
talking points and background on
the leader on the other end of the
line. Often an informal transcript
of the call is made and circulated
among a select group — sometimes
a small clutch of aides, sometimes a
broader group of foreign policy offi-
cials. Those records are preserved
and archived.
The White House did not respond
to questions on whether the president
is keeping records of any less-formal
calls with world leaders.
Trump’s White House is already
facing scrutiny for apparent efforts
to work outside usual diplomatic
channels.
The administration has been
fending off questions about a senior
aide’s attempt to set up a secret
back channel of communication
with Moscow in the weeks before
Trump was took office. White House
adviser Jared Kushner, Trump’s
son-in-law, met in December with
Russia’s ambassador to the U.S.
and discussed whether a secret line
of communication could be used
to facilitate sensitive policy discus-
sions about the conflict in Syria,
according to a person familiar with
the talks. The person demanded
anonymity because the person was
not authorized to discuss the sensi-
tive conversation by name.
The White House has said such
back channel communications are
useful and discreet.
The Presidential Records Act
of 1981, passed after Watergate,
requires the president preserve all
records related to the office.
Flynn agrees to
provide documents
to Senate panel
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Former National Security
Adviser Michael Flynn
will provide documents
to the Senate intelligence
committee as part of
its probe into Russia’s
meddling in the 2016
election, The Associated
Press has learned.
Flynn’s decision Tuesday
came as President Donald
Trump’s personal attorney,
Michael Cohen, rejected
a
House
intelligence
committee request for
information, and former
White House staffer Boris
Epshteyn confirmed he
has been contacted for
information as part of the
House investigation.
Meanwhile, Trump and
Russian President Vladimir
Putin
sounded
similar
tones as they criticized the
ongoing U.S. scrutiny of
Russia’s attempts to sway
the presidential election.
Flynn’s
cooperation
was the first signal that he
and the Senate panel have
found common ground.
Congressional investigators
continue to press for key
documents in the ongoing
investigation, and the retired
lieutenant general is trying to
limit damaging disclosures
that hostile lawmakers could
use against him.
Flynn had previously
invoked
his
Fifth
Amendment
protection
against self-incrimination
in declining an earlier
subpoena
from
the
committee.
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