ENDANGERING AN ALLIANCE – AT 10:33 A.M. ET:  An intelligence flap has shaken the US-UK alliance.  This must be nailed down on our side, and there should be prosecutions.  From CNN:

Manchester, England (CNN) Britain has suspended intelligence sharing on the Manchester bombing with the US after American officials leaked information to the media, an issue that British Prime Minister Theresa May will raise with US President Donald Trump later Thursday.

US officials released the suspected bomber's name and other details of the investigation into the deadly attack at the Manchester Arena Monday night, irking British investigators scrambling to keep details of the probe confidential.

May said Thursday she would raise leaks with Trump when the pair meet at a NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium.

Arriving at the summit she told reporters the "special relationship" with the US on intelligence sharing is based on trust.

"I will be making clear to President Trump today that intelligence that is shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure."

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said that only intelligence relating to this particular probe had been suspended, adding that "we quite frankly can't afford to risk it any more."

"It has been compromised by the leaks and we can't afford anymore, so we've taken a temporary decision to say let's clear it out and draw a line, let's not have a row that lingers on. Nobody wants that. But equally we have to make our opinions clear so we can get this relationship back to where we all want it to be," Burnham told CNN.

COMMENT:  The Trump administration has a critical problem with leaks.  We don't know yet whether this series of leaks came from Trump officials eager to show what they know, or other officials eager to undermine President Trump.  We should turn the White House and the intelligence agencies upside down to find the leakers.  They are committing crimes, and must be punished.

Earlier this week we learned that a full transcript of a phone conversation between Trump and the Philippines president had been leaked.  Who will trust us if this keeps happening?

May 25, 2017