President Donald Trump unleashed fury at “leakers” in the FBI after CNN reported Thursday night that the FBI refused White House requests to tamp down on reports of Russian contact with members of Trump’s campaign.
Trump expressed himself on Twitter Friday morning:
The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security “leakers” that have permeated our government for a long time. They can’t even……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2017
find the leakers within the FBI itself. Classified information is being given to media that could have a devastating effect on U.S. FIND NOW
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2017
CNN reported Thursday night that the FBI and other agencies had refused requests from the White House to hit back against stories about members of Trump’s campaign repeatedly contacting Russian nationals, including intelligence officials.
Members of Trump’s campaign, including Paul Manafort, Carter Page, Roger Stone and Michael Flynn all denied knowingly having improper contact with Russians.
The White House has since disputed CNN’s characterization of its contact with the FBI.
“We didn’t try to knock the story down. We asked them to tell the truth,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.
Members of the Trump administration – and Obama holdovers, he asserts – have been prolific anonymous sources for the press during the first weeks of his presidency.
