‘The White House is playing word games’: WaPo reporter slams McMasters’ denial of Trump intel disclosure to Russians

During an emergency press conference, Lt. Gen. HR McMaster, a sitting member of President Donald Trump's National Security Council, said the Washington Post report claiming the president revealed classified intel to Russian officials during an Oval Office meeting last week is fake news.

The Post's Greg Miller, who co-wrote the breaking story, said "the White House is playing word games" immediately following the conference, and that McMaster twisted what he reported.

"The story that came out tonight as reported, is false," McMaster said on the White House lawn.

He went on to reiterate his statements to the Post, which claim that the president "did not disclose any military operations" that weren't already known to the Russian officials.

McMaster also said that sources speaking on the record should "outweigh" anonymous sources like those that spoke to the Post.

"I was in the room, it didn't happen," McMaster said before ending the press conference.

Following McMaster's statement, Post reporter Scott Wilson noted on Twitter that the national security advisor "had the opportunity to call the story "false" before we published it," but chose not to.

Watch footage of McMaster's press conference below, via Twitter.

Watch McMaster's statement carefully: “at no time were sources or methods discussed.” WaPo report never said Trump revealed sources/methods. pic.twitter.com/SF3rWDqKFi

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 15, 2017