Donald Trump claimed Sunday that CIA Director John Brennan could have leaked sensitive and unsubstantiated information about the president-elect. In a series of tweets, Trump criticized Brennan and then openly questioned to his nearly 19 million followers on the social media platform, “Was this the leaker of Fake News?”
.@FoxNews “Outgoing CIA Chief, John Brennan, blasts Pres-Elect Trump on Russia threat. Does not fully understand.” Oh really, couldn’t do…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2017
much worse – just look at Syria (red line), Crimea, Ukraine and the build-up of Russian nukes. Not good! Was this the leaker of Fake News?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2017
Brennan appeared earlier in the day on Fox News Sunday and took umbrage with Trump’s criticism of the intelligence community at a press conference on Wednesday. “There is no interest in undermining the president-elect and the team coming in. It’s our responsibility to make sure they understand exactly the dangers that are out there,” Brennan said.
The “fake news” in Trump’s tweet refers to a document of salacious allegations about the incoming president that had been floating around Washington among government officials and journalists for weeks. After CNN reported last week that Trump had been briefed on the existence of this document, BuzzFeed published the “unsubstantiated” dossier. BuzzFeed‘s publication has drawn criticism from Trump, his supporters, and many members of the media.
“I’ve lived in this world for 45 years where you get things and people make allegations,” respected Washington Postjournalist Bob Woodward told the Fox News Sunday panel. “That is a garbage document.”
And as the Daily Caller reports, Woodward went on to tell Chris Wallace that Trump deserves an apology:
