Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said through a spokesman Thursday that he would “absolutely not” object to the release of a letter he sent to President-elect Trump shortly after winning the election, and indicated the letter wasn’t as “beautiful” as Trump alleges.
Trump taunted the former director of national intelligence on Twitter Thursday morning by writing that Clapper “famously got caught lying to Congress,” and asking, “Will he show you his beautiful letter to me?”
James Clapper, who famously got caught lying to Congress, is now an authority on Donald Trump. Will he show you his beautiful letter to me?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2017
Clapper said Trump is referring to a short handwritten note delivered the morning after the November election, and that he has sent no subsequent note. His spokesman, Shawn Turner, told the Washington Examiner that Clapper wrote two near-identical letters on the eve of the election — one to Trump, another to Hillary Clinton.
“The night before the election, the intelligence community prepared and deployed two teams of PDB briefers — daily briefers — to give the first intelligence brief to whomever won the election,” Turner said. “Director Clapper hand-wrote two almost identical notes to the candidates.”
Turner said the letter congratulated the victor, assured them the intelligence community would be “ready to serve” the president and “reaffirmed the intelligence community’s longstanding commitment to speak truth to power.” The contents were recalled from Clapper’s memory, Turner said.
Turner said the letter was “very short, very brief” and written on a stationary pad belonging to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It was a single page and attached with a paper clip to the daily intelligence briefing, he said.
But Turner also said if anything, the note to Clinton was more personal. “He obviously had worked with Secretary Clinton previously when she was secretary of state, so there was more of a personal feel,” he said.
A White House spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment on whether the letter will be released.
Trump’s mention of Clapper lying to Congress refers to a March 2013 remark in which he denied mass collection of U.S. communications. Months later, Edward Snowden revealed the answer to be inaccurate and Clapper apologized. He said he gave the “least untruthful” answer possible.
Two sections of law under which Clapper theoretically could face charges for perjury or making a false statement come with five-year statutes of limitation. Despite some calls for prosecution, there’s no indication of Justice Department action ahead of the March 2018 deadline.
Clapper appears to have triggered Trump’s tweet by saying on CNN — after the president’s Tuesday rally in Arizona — that “I really question his ability to be — his fitness to be — in this office, and I also am beginning to wonder about his motivation for it.”
