The Director of National Intelligence released a statement Wednesday saying he did not believe leaks of an explosive document containing allegations of ties between President-elect Donald Trump and Russia came from within the intelligence community.
James Clapper said he expressed to Trump his “profound dismay at the leaks that have been appearing in the press.” He described the leaked document as “widely circulated in recent months among the media, members of Congress and Congressional staff even before the IC became aware of it.”
“I emphasized that this document is not a U.S. Intelligence Community product and that I do not believe the leaks came from within the IC,” he added.
Clapper said the intelligence community made no judgement on whether the information presented in the document was reliable and that it did not rely on the document “in any way.”
Trump had tweeted Thursday morning that Clapper had called him to “denounce” the report:
James Clapper called me yesterday to denounce the false and fictitious report that was illegally circulated. Made up, phony facts.Too bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2017
Clapper and Trump both appeared to be referring to a Tuesday report from BuzzFeed, which published a 35-page document containing unsubstantiated allegations. Immediately before BuzzFeed published the document, CNN reported that intelligence officials had briefed Trump and President Barack Obama on a two-page summary of the document.
At a press conference Wednesday, his first in 167 days, Trump wondered aloud, without proof, if the intelligence community had “maybe” leaked the document to the press. He even said he had kept secret his meetings with intelligence officials from his staff in order to ensure they were not the source of leaks about the meetings.
On Wednesday morning, Trump said the leak was characteristic of Nazi Germany (he was criticized for that tweet by the Anti-Defamation League):
Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to “leak” into the public. One last shot at me.Are we living in Nazi Germany?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2017
All this makes me wonder what the Russian hackers got from the RNC and Trump directly…
It was reported that this info came from an ex British intelligence agent who now runs a private company. I think Clapper is just trying to distance himself from Trump’s wrath.
The 35 page document is not and could never be deemed as “illegally” circulated since its origins were from a private investigator firm and thus never under the necessity for classification by any US intelligence organization.
The document originated in the public sphere and could be given to anyone without any legal ramifications whatsoever.
If this was oppo research commissioned by a primary opponent, I don’t get how it’s either “leaked” OR “illegally circulated” (except in the sense that all lese-Trump will soon be illegal).
I also don’t get the hand-wringing in some quarters that BuzzFeed publishing this will somehow make Trump immune to its contents.
I will believe in the veracity of all the information in this document for as many years as Trump questioned the veracity of Obama’s birthplace.