Politics

Did Trump’s Alaska Summit Documents Expose U.S. Officials? The White House Calls Report “Hilarious”

August 17, 2025, 9:23 PM

U.S. President Trump and Russian President Putin stand on an airport tarmac in Anchorage, with Air Force One in the background.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin stand on an airfield in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. By kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Executive Summary

The White House dismissed an NPR report alleging sensitive U.S. government documents related to a summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin were left on a public hotel printer.

NPR reported the documents contained details about the summit’s schedule, identities of key officials, and contact details for U.S. government personnel.

White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly called the reported documents a “multi-page lunch menu” and not a security breach, criticizing NPR’s journalism.

The Story So Far

The incident occurred prior to a high-level summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which inherently involves sensitive diplomatic information.

The White House’s dismissive response to NPR’s report includes a reference to President Trump ending taxpayer funding for NPR, providing context for the administration’s critical stance toward the news organization.

The event highlights ongoing discussions regarding the handling of sensitive government information and differing interpretations of security vulnerabilities in high-level diplomatic contexts.

Why This Matters

The alleged incident raises concerns about the security protocols for handling sensitive government information during high-level diplomatic events.

The White House’s dismissal of the report as a “multi-page lunch menu” highlights a potential disconnect in how information security is perceived and managed at the highest levels.

This event could prompt a review of how documents from offices like the Chief of Protocol are handled to prevent future accidental disclosures.

Who Thinks What?

The White House, through deputy press secretary Anna Kelly, dismissed NPR’s report as “hilarious,” claiming the documents were merely a “multi-page lunch menu” and not a security breach, while criticizing NPR’s journalism.

NPR reported that eight pages of sensitive U.S. government documents, including summit schedules, identities of officials, and phone numbers of U.S. advance staffers, were left on a public hotel printer, raising questions about information security.

The White House has dismissed as “hilarious” a report by NPR alleging that sensitive U.S. government documents related to a summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska were left on a public hotel printer. The report detailed that the papers contained information about meetings and locations, along with contact details for U.S. government personnel, raising questions about information security.

White House Response

White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly issued a statement on Saturday, calling NPR’s report a “multi-page lunch menu” and not a security breach. Kelly criticized the reporting, stating, “This type of self-proclaimed ‘investigative journalism’ is why no one takes them seriously and they are no longer taxpayer-funded thanks to President Trump.”

NPR’s Findings

According to NPR, the eight-page collection of documents was discovered on a hotel printer prior to the planned Friday meeting between President Trump and President Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage. The report indicated that the papers included details about the summit’s schedule and the identities of key officials.

The first page reportedly outlined the sequence of meetings for Friday, including an indication that President Trump intended to present a gift to President Putin. Pages two through five listed the names of top U.S. and Russian officials present in Alaska, with page two specifically containing the phone numbers of three U.S. advance staffers.

Further pages, six and seven, reportedly displayed the seating arrangement for a planned lunch and its menu. Although the three-course meal, which would have featured a salad, filet mignon, and/or halibut olympia, did not ultimately take place on Friday, its details were included in the documents obtained by NPR.

Document Origin

The documents appear to have been generated by the Office of the Chief of Protocol, a division of the State Department. This office is responsible for facilitating diplomatic interactions and creating an environment conducive to successful foreign policy goals, including welcoming international leaders to the United States.

The incident highlights ongoing discussions regarding the handling of sensitive government information and the varying interpretations of what constitutes a security vulnerability in high-level diplomatic contexts.