As Trump pivots to Russia, allies weigh sharing less intel with U.S.
Some U.S. allies are considering scaling back the intelligence they share with Washington in response to the Trump administration’s conciliatory approach to Russia.
Some U.S. allies are considering scaling back the intelligence they share with Washington in response to the Trump administration’s conciliatory approach to Russia, five sources with direct knowledge of the discussions told NBC News.
The allies are weighing the move because of concerns about safeguarding foreign assets whose identities could inadvertently be revealed, said the sources, who included two foreign officials.
Every intelligence agency treats its commitments to foreign agents as sacrosanct, pledging to keep agents safe and shield their identities. Anything that jeopardized that obligation would violate that trust, former officials said, and that could lead some spy services to hold back on some information sharing with Washington.
The allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia and members of the so-called Five Eyes spy alliance of English-speaking democracies, are examining how to possibly revise current protocols for sharing intelligence to take the Trump administration’s warming relations with Russia into account, the sources said.
“Those discussions are already happening,” said a source with direct knowledge of the discussions.
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