White House staff are recommending a series of changes after the name of the CIA's top officer in Kabul was accidently released during President Barack Obama's surprise visit there last month.
White House Counsel Neil Eggleston briefed Chief of Staff Denis McDonough Tuesday night about his investigation after the name of the CIA Kabul station chief in a pool report was released during the president's trip to Afghanistan. Obama was briefed on the findings.
Eggleston came up with three recommendations to prevent what spokesman Josh Earnest said was the "inadvertent" exposure of information:
1) Before the president arrives on a foreign trip, a member of the scheduling and advance staff will notify participants of a meeting open to the press that their names and titles will be released to reporters. Participants will be given an opportunity to raise concerns.
2) On those same trips, the White House press lead will clear the names and titles of meeting participants with National Security staff.
3) The White House scheduling, advance and communications staff will receive additional training about the handling of sensitive information.
The White House recognized its mistake last month and quickly issued a revised list that did not include the name. Earnest said no one was disciplined or fired.
Earnest said some of the recommendations had been followed before, but not always. They often occur "but they don't occur every time," he said.
"In all of these circumstances we are balancing our commitment to transparency with the need to protect some information for national security reasons," he said.