President Donald Trump and White House chief of staff John Kelly were both incensed after news leaked that the president congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his election victory despite advice from his national security team in briefing materials not to do so, CNN reported on Wednesday.
Trump was reportedly actively trying to discover the source of the leak, since only a small group of staffers have access to the information, and the incident reinforced his belief that there are those inside his administration who are actively working to undermine him.
It was a report in The Washington Post on Tuesday that revealed that Trump had congratulated Putin on his election victory despite specific warnings from numerous national security advisers against such a move.
It is unclear if Trump even bothered to read the advice before making the call or simply decided to disregard it and use his own judgment.
Kelly is reportedly equally upset about the leak and is intent on discovering who was the staffer who passed on the information, according to CNN.
Other White House aides also were upset and disappointed over the leak, with one calling it "unacceptable" and another "ridiculous."
Republican Sen. Jon McCain sent out a tweet slamming Trump for congratulating Putin.
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