Democrats and national security experts warn the Trump administration’s lax handling of security matters could pose a risk of leaks and cyberattacks.
Complaints peaked Saturday after President Donald Trump took a phone call about North Korea’s missile test while surrounded by guests at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Politico said Tuesday his staffers used cellphone flashlights to examine government documents later that day, apparently oblivious that such devices can be hacked to transmit video.
“This is mind-bogglingly irresponsible,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a member of the Intelligence Committee, told Politico. “Trump threatens national security by letting anyone who pays to get into his club photograph sensitive deliberations.”
The White House denied Trump discussed anything secret in public, saying the only thing discussed in full view of guests was the logistics of a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Pictures posted to Facebook by Richard DeAgazio, a guest at Mar-a-Lago, showed chief strategist Stephen Bannon and former national security adviser Michael Flynn hovering nearby.
“He never should have had such a sensitive discussion in such a public place,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., agreed.
Republicans railed against Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, and the FBI investigated the issue. Trump claimed during the campaign her cavalier treatment of security matters disqualified her for the presidency.
Mar-a-Lago also briefly posted a photo to Facebook that showed the U.S. military official responsible for holding the nation’s nuclear launch codes.
President Donald Trump took a phone call about North Korea’s missile test while surrounded by guests at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Above, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie Abe attend dinner with Trump and his wife Melania, Feb. 10, 2017. Photo: Carlos Barria
Concerns were raised earlier about Trump’s use of an Android cellphone to tweet since that could give hackers entrée into other parts of his phone and allow his movements to be tracked.
“Think about the impact an attacker could have if they could access POTUS’s phone microphone, or that of his aides, during key briefings such as the meeting in Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night,” said Mike Murray, a vice president at the mobile security company Lookout.
Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Tom Carper, D-Dela., have asked the Defense Department to explain why Trump hasn’t been given a secure phone.
“The national security risks of compromising a smartphone used by a senior government official, such as the President of the United States, are considerable,” they wrote.
Trump last week left the key to the “lockbag” containing intergovernment information sitting on his desk as press photographers snapped pictures, giving foreign intelligence a look at how Trump works.
“It’s against best practices of operational security,” Jonathan Wackrow, a private security consultant and former Secret Service agent, told Politico. “The people he surrounds himself with should know better. I don’t see that voice of reason anywhere.”
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