Trump hosts first news conference saying Intel agencies will have blot on record
Posted Jan 11, 2017 11:39:37 AM.
Last Updated Jan 11, 2017 12:37:25 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
US president-elect Donald Trump says intelligence agencies will have a “tremendous blot on their record” if they leaked a report claiming top intelligence officials told him about an unsubstantiated report that Russia had about him.
Trump’s Press Secretary Sean Spicer began Trump’s first press conference in nearly six months by slamming a report, first published Tuesday by CNN, deeming it “outrageous” and “irresponsible.”
The dossier contains unproven information about close co-ordination between Trump’s inner circle and Russians about hacking into Democratic accounts as well as unproven claims about unusual sexual activities by Trump among other suggestions attributed to anonymous sources. The Associated Press has not authenticated any of the claims.
A US official said yesterday intelligence officials had informed Trump last week about an unsubstantiated report that Russia had compromising personal and financial information about him. Trump and President Barack Obama were briefed on the intelligence community’s findings last week, the official said.
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Media outlets reported on the document late Tuesday, and Trump quickly took to Twitter to denounce it as “fake news.”
He suggested that he’s being persecuted for defeating other GOP presidential hopefuls and Democrat Hillary Clinton in the election.
