Information security

H.R. McMaster: Speaking to media about national security deliberations is 'treasonous'

Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster said Tuesday that members of the President Trump's National Security Council should understand it is treasonous to leak to the media about national security deliberations.

Such leaks, an unwelcome fixture in Trump's White House often derided by the president, have become a real challenge in recent years as the NSC has grown to its current size of about 367 members and the administration has taken steps to trim the size of the council, said McMaster, who is the president's national security adviser.

The general, who spoke at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said the "real dilemma" for the NSC and its size is that more personnel can add expertise and different perspectives to solving security and foreign policy concerns.

"But in recent years, in particular, the problem with leaks has become a real challenge to national security and so I think what is very important is that everyone who is involved in these sort of policy discussions understand the sacred trust that is placed in them, and they realize that speaking to the media about government deliberations is treasonous when it involves national security," McMaster said.