Donald Trump 'does not know enough about intelligence to leak anything damaging', US officials say in his defence

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President Donald Trump does not have the “interest or knowledge” of details of American intelligence gathering required to leak any specifics that might do harm, three administration officials say.

Aides and associates of Mr Trump spoke with the New York Times following the shocking revelation the president had revealed highly classified information to Russian officials. The information is reported to have come from a secretive intelligence-sharing partnership with Israel, where Mr Trump is slated to visit next week.

Members of Congress and at least one European official have expressed concern that the information breach could pose a risk to intelligence-gathering partnerships around the globe.

The three administration officials, however, say Mr Trump does not know the “granular details of intelligence gathering” necessary to reveal “specific sources and methods”.

National Security Adviser HR McMaster appeared to confirm this on Tuesday, telling reporters that Mr Trump "wasn’t even aware where this information came from" and "wasn’t briefed on the sources and methods".

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer echoed these comments in a press conference that afternoon.

"The President wasn’t briefed on the information and wasn’t aware of the source, so the president wasn’t aware of this," Mr Spicer said. "This wasn’t part of his briefing."

Classified memos obtained by the press show Mr Trump’s national intelligence briefings contain a quarter of the information presented daily to former President Barack Obama. Mr Trump himself has claimed he does not need daily intelligence briefings, saying he doesn’t “have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day”.

Mr Trump has reportedly been stepping up his educational efforts in recent weeks, in advance of his first foreign trip as president. Reporters were surprised to find former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Mr Trump’s office unannounced last week, reportedly discussing the war in Syria.

Despite these efforts, associates say senior advisers are still reticent to leave Mr Trump alone with foreign leaders for fear of what he might say. Mr McMaster was singled out for frequently attempting to subtly correct the president in conversation.

Members of the White House staff, meanwhile, are described as “confused and squabbling”. A tumultuous week on Pennsylvania Avenue, starting with Mr Trump’s surprise dismissal of former FBI Director James Comey, has sparked rumours of a staff “shakeup” in the White House.

Mr Trump has privately reassured his communications staff that their jobs are safe, and even tweeted explanations for their mounting contradictions. But sources say he has told other advisers that he needs to make “big changes” in the White House. He is reportedly reaching out to Fox News producers to replace some current administration staff.

Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, told reporters on Monday that the White House is in a “downward spiral”.

"The White House has got to do something soon to bring itself under control and in order," he said. “...They've got to figure out a way to come to grips with all that's happening."