Reports surfaced earlier this week saying that President Donald Trump shared classified information with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster said that trump did not endanger the sources of the intel, adding that the president didn't know where the information came from.

No breach in protocol

Speaking at the White House, McMaster said there was no breach in protocol and that disclosing the information was "wholly appropriate."

"The president in no way undermined sources or methods in the course of this conversation," McMaster said, going on to say that the info could be found via "open-source reporting."

Protection of national security was saved by the president's own ignorance.

Trump "wasn't even aware of where this information came from," McMaster said, "he wasn't briefed on the source."

McMaster did not deny that the president had shared classified information with the Russian official

The Washington Post reported on Monday that the president shared U.S. intelligence with Lavrov. The Post's anonymous sources claimed that the information came from a U.S. "partner," shared via an international intelligence collaborative effort.

According to the White House staff, Trump's sharing of the intel also may have compromised the intelligence source.

"This is code-word information," a U.S. official told the Post. Trump "revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we share with our own allies."

McMaster quickly switched his statement to the subject of White House leaks.

"I think the real issue and what I would like to see debated more is that our national security has been put at risk by those violating confidentiality," McMaster said. "I think national security is put at risk by this leak and leaks like this. It's incumbent on all of us to bring in the people with the right mandate and the right authorities to take a look at how this leak occurred and how other breaches may have occurred as well," McMaster said.

As the Trump administration continues to be caught off guard, senior White House officials continue to deplore the amount of information leaked to the press. The president himself commented on the subject via Twitter: