In the spring of 2018, the White House upgraded its top-secret code-word system called the National Security Council Intelligence Collaboration Environment in order to prevent anyone from possibly leaking records of the US president's phone calls with foreign leaders, Politico reported on Tuesday.
Under the upgraded system, a suspected leaker will be easier to identify because the system tracks who had accessed certain documents compared to previously only being able to see who uploaded or downloaded material, the report said citing two former White House officials who worked under the Trump administration.
The report said the White House may be abusing the code-word system if it is attempting to hide politically sensitive material rather than taking actions based on national security purposes.
US House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry based on a whistleblower's complaint that alleges presidential misconduct in the July 25 telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The complaint said Trump asked Zelenskyy to investigate possible corruption in Ukraine of his likely opponent in the 2020 US presidential election, Joe Biden, and his son Hunter Biden.
Trump released the transcript of his conversation with Zelenskyy, denied any wrongdoing and called the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry yet another political witch hunt designed to reverse the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election.
