(…) There is a SCIF at Mar-a-Lago, which is used when President Donald Trump is in town.
Ironically, the existence of the SCIF at the president’s private club in Palm Beach was first revealed in a White House press briefing on February 14, 2017, to rebut criticism Trump himself had put sensitive discussions at risk.
That was days after Trump held an impromptu security gathering in a Mar-a-Lago dining area with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and their aides moments after a North Korea missile test.
Aides surround Shinzo Abe after he and Trump are notified of a North Korea missile launch during his visit to Mar-a-Lago on February 11, 2017. (Credit: Shannon Donnelly/Daily Wire)
But during a press briefing three days later, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer downplayed the discussion and said Trump had been briefed in a secure area before dinner.
“The president was briefed in a SCIF ahead of dinner,” Spicer said. “He went with his national security team. They briefed him on the situation in North Korea.”
President Donald Trump receives a briefing on a military strike on Syria from his National Security team, including a video teleconference with Secretary of Defense, Gen. James Mattis, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, on Thursday, April 6, 2017, in a secured location at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Florida.(Credit: Shealah Craighead/Wikipedia)
Spicer said people wrongly jumped to “nefarious conclusions” about the famous photo of Trump, Abe and their aides huddled around a table with Mar-a-Lago members and guests seated nearby.
“At that time, apparently there was a photo taken, which everyone jumped to nefarious conclusions about what may or may not be discussed,” Spicer told the media that day. “There was simply a discussion about press logistics, where to host the event. And then after the dinner, the president went back into the SCIF to get a further update from his team. So I’m not really sure where people jumped to conclusions. There is a SCIF there. It was utilized on two occasions that evening to convey to the president by his national security team the situation in North Korea.” (Read more: The Palm Beach Post, 11/5/2019) (Archive)