- Since Biden took office, the allied intelligence agencies appear to be more willing to share secrets.
- Sources told Insider they were reassured by President Biden’s call to end his predecessor’s information session.
- Some allies were outraged and held back after Trump shared secret information with Russia in 2017.
- Visit the Insider Business Department for more stories.
Movements by President Joe Biden to restrict Donald Trump’s access to intelligence have reassured European allies that they can once again share freely with the US, sources told Insider.
Officials from three different intelligence services in Europe reacted warmly to comments from Biden in his first TV interview as president, where he said he did not want Trump to continue to get information about information.
Previous presidents have received the briefings as a courtesy, which the current president may cancel at any time.
Although Biden said he did not see Trump needing to keep up to date, he stopped saying definitively that he would cut him off.
Nevertheless, the intelligence officers to whom Insider spoke reassured, all of whom asked for anonymity because of the nature of their work.
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One, a senior official of a European country who is also a member of NATO, said: ‘This has been expected and it is a symbolic step – but it puts an end to the extraordinary situation where services like ours became reluctant to share important information details because of the fear that these details would spread from the national security community to the president, who would then tell the Russian ambassador. “
He referred to an incident in the first month of the Trump administration where Trump shared critical intelligence with the Russian ambassador who was able to reveal an Israeli source of information regarding ISIS.
The incident shocked U.S. allies, whose officials suggested they would be reluctant to share information that would end up with Trump.
In his interview, Biden seems to have similar scenarios in mind when he mentioned the risk that Trump ‘might slip up and say something’ as a reason to restrict his access.
President Joe Biden interviewed CBS News on February 7, 2021.
CBS News
The intelligence official continued: “There were concerns about Trump because of his reputation for criminal behavior and close ties with Russian elements … considered suspicious at best,” the official said.
“And a lot of things have happened since 2017 – none of them are good, I might add – but it was the point that everyone became much more careful about sharing with the Americans.”
(The source did not elaborate on the other incidents he intended – and although allegations were made about Trump’s proximity to Russia, little evidence was presented and he was not charged with any crimes.)
Two other sources with EU countries agreed with the first source that Biden’s attitude would restore confidence and improve intelligence expansion emphasized by the Trump administration.
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Both sources, however, declined to comment further or be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Not all US allies view the change in administration in the same way. A retired Israeli official, who requested anonymity because he is still assisting the government with certain intelligence matters, conceded that the incident in January 2017 caused concern.
But he said it did not affect the overall relationship too much, and that Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, “could not complain about its treatment by the Trump administration.”
Asked if Israeli officials no longer want to share with the US, he only said: “Mossad is always careful to share information and intelligence. You never give it to anyone except for a very good reason. Everything is so consider. “
The Israelis said the relationship was too good to worry about Trump’s decay.
“If you agree on critical policies, it becomes easy to adjust personality,” the official said. Israel and Trump were closely aligned on issues, including dealing with Iran.
President Vladimir Putin talks with then-President Donald Trump.
Getty
The first official with whom Insider spoke points to Biden’s growing willingness to confront Vladimir Putin of Russia.
“The content of cooperation and honest efforts to confront Putin can already be felt,” the official said.
“Things quickly returned to normal and one reason for this is that Europe and its American ally can talk freely about what we know about Putin. Putin did not encourage it and made us all weaker.”