The White House has downplayed reports that sensitive documents from President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin were found in a hotel printer in Anchorage, Alaska.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly called the documents a “multi-page lunch menu” and said finding them does not threaten national security.
“It’s hilarious that NPR is publishing a multi-page lunch menu and calling it a ‘security breach,'” Kelly told NewsNation.
Why It Matters
NPR first reported that the documents included plans for a canceled luncheon, seating charts, a gift presentation, and phone numbers for U.S. and Russian officials. The menu listed green salad, filet mignon, halibut, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and crème brûlée. Phonetic guides for Russian names were also included.
Trump and Putin met on Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss ending the war in Ukraine that Putin started in February 2022. The White House said Putin requested the meeting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited.
What To Know
Three hotel guests found the documents on a printer around 9 a.m. at Hotel Captain Cook, a four-star hotel about 20 minutes from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The eight pages had U.S. State Department symbols and included information on the summit meetings, locations, and phone numbers for three U.S. staff members.
A related video shows Trump and Zelenskyy set to meet alongside European and NATO leaders after the Putin summit.
The first page outlined the day’s meetings, including a note that Trump would give Putin a gift. Pages two through five listed the names of senior U.S. and Russian officials in Alaska, and page two included phone numbers for three U.S. staffers, NPR reported. Pages six and seven showed the lunch seating chart and menu.
Even though Putin has said he wants a peace deal with Ukraine, Russian forces continued attacks on Friday while preparing to meet Trump.
Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on peace terms. Zelensky refuses a ceasefire that doesn’t include security guarantees, while Putin wants Ukraine out of NATO and to give Russia control of four territories Moscow claims.
After the meeting, Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of Ukraine’s parliament foreign affairs committee, told The New York Times that Putin used the meeting to show he is not isolated and gained an advantage in shaping the story during joint remarks with Trump.
Trump also hand-delivered a letter from First Lady Melania Trump to Putin about the war’s impact on children, according to Reuters. The letter’s contents are unknown.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the alleged abduction of Ukrainian children. Russia said the children were moved for safety and called the warrant unacceptable. Kyiv says around 20,000 Ukrainian children have been abducted since February 2022, which it says meets the UN definition of genocide.
After the meeting, Trump told Fox News that it is up to Zelensky to make a ceasefire happen.
“Now it is really up to President Zelensky to get it done,” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “I would also say the European nations have to get involved a little bit.”
What People Are Saying
Trump said on August 15: “I’ve always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin, with Vladimir. We were interfered with by the Russia hoax that made it a little tougher to deal with, but he understood it.”
Trump did not explain what he meant by “the Russia hoax.”
What Happens Next
Trump is scheduled to meet Zelensky and European leaders in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
