President Donald Trump's national security adviser says Trump didn't know where information that he shared with Russian officials came from.
On Tuesday, the adviser, H.R. McMaster, didn't deny that Trump had discussed information deemed classified.
But McMaster told reporters the information was available through "open-source reporting". That typically refers to reporting that's publicly available, such as news accounts, academic reports or social media.
McMaster says Trump hadn't been briefed on the source or method of the information.
Trump was later informed that he had broken protocol. White House officials then reached out to the National Security Agency and the CIA in an effort to contain any damage.
McMaster identified Trump's homeland security adviser, Tom Bossert, as the official who contacted both agencies.
McMaster was adamant Trump did not have an inappropriate conversation or one that caused a lapse in national security.
"I stand by my statement that I made yesterday," McMaster said.
"What I'm saying is really the premise of that (Washington Post) article was false, that in any way the president had a conversation that was inappropriate or resulted in any kind of lapse in national security."
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