Sen. Ted Cruz said Thursday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is a threat to the United States who has already hurt U.S. national security.
“Assange has done enormous damage to our national security,” Cruz told radio host Hugh Hewitt. “I would not be praising him under any circumstances.”
The comment comes a day after President-elect Trump seemed to side with Assange and Russian President Vladimir Putin over U.S. intelligence officials, who say Russia attempted to interfere with the November election by hacking into emails of the Democratic National Committee and John Podesta, the chairman of Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful presidential campaign.
Cruz’s remark also piggybacks on comments from House Speaker Paul Ryan, who offered his own screed against Assange on Wednesday.
“I think the guy is a sycophant for Russia,” Paul said. “He leaks, he steals data, and compromises national security.”
On Wednesday, Trump tweeted several times about the WikiLeaks founder, including by quoting his remarks to Fox News about the media, and criticizing the DNC for being “careless.” Trump also supported Assange’s claim that he did not get the hacked emails from the Russians.
On Thursday, Trump pushed back against claims that he is siding with Assange, and said he was simply quoting him. Trump also said he is a “big fan” of U.S. intelligence.
