The White House is reportedly furious over photos that were taken during a meeting between President Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
An administration official said that the White House was misled about the true role of the Russian photographer who took pictures during the event, according to a Washington Post report.
The official maintained that Russian authorities failed to disclose that the photographer accompanying Lavrov worked for the state-owned Russian news agency Tass, instead describing him as Lavrov’s official photographer.
The Russian government photographer’s presence soon became clear when the pictures went online. It prompted complaints from American media, who pointed out that they had been excluded from the meeting.
White House officials told the publication that they were not expecting to see the photos of the meeting posted online by the Russian news agency.
According to CNN’s Jim Acosta, U.S. officials said that the Russians “tricked” the authorities. “They lie,” the official said.
Some former intelligence officials also raised concerns about the presence of the Russian photographer, maintaining that it posed a potential security risk for the White House.
When asked if it was a sound decision to give the photographer access into the Oval Office, former Deputy CIA Director David Cohen said, “No, it was not,” according to the Post.
