Donald Trump Twitter: President-Elect Attacks United States Intelligence Agencies And Republican And Democrat Politicians Over Leaked Intel Report
There was another Donald Trump Twitter attack early this morning, this time against the United States intelligence agencies that Trump claims leaked an Intel report regarding the Trump and Russia relationship and whether he can be blackmailed by Vladimir Putin. As part of a series of tweets, Trump also blamed Democrat and Republican politicians, claiming they were conspiring against him.
BREAKING: CNN reports Intel report to Obama and Trump said that Russia has compromising info on Trump … https://t.co/eWCC8xt85P
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) January 10, 2017
Using information allegedly obtained from a former U.K. intelligence agent named Christopher Steele, the Associated Press reports United States intelligence agencies last week provided information to President Obama, President-elect Trump, and senior leaders in the House and the Senate – the so-called Gang of Eight – indicating that Russian operatives might have compromising financial and personal information about Trump.
The 35-page report also apparently contained information suggesting that the Donald Trump campaign team interacted with Russian officials throughout the 2016 election. The information in the report was originally compiled by Steele partly at the request of Donald Trump’s competitors for the Republican nomination.
In the early morning Donald Trump Twitter messages, he indicated that the leak of this document to the media was part of a conspiratorial effort on the part of his political opponents in both parties to produce false but damaging information about him and his incoming administration.
“Totally made up facts by sleazebag political operatives, both Democrats and Republicans…”
In addition to politicians and intelligence agencies, Trump has also targeted CNN in his Twitter feed attacks, and during his most recent news conference, he described CNN as “fake news.” This despite the fact that Fox News – hardly a liberal-leaning news organization – has affirmed that CNN’s methods and reporting on this story are solid and journalistically sound.
These recent Donald Trump Twitter posts also leaned on Russian assurances that they had no such information about him, once again indicating the greater trust Donald Trump seems to have in Russia and Vladimir Putin than he does in United States intelligence agencies.
“FAKE NEWS! Russia says nothing exists.”
In yet another Donald Trump Twitter message, Trump went the time-honored route of attacking the messenger, in this case the messenger being – as reported by the Associated Press – former U.K. MI6 intelligence agent Christopher Steele.
“It now turns out that the phony allegations against me were put together by my political opponents and a failed spy afraid of being sued…”
But the various United States intelligence agencies involved in examining this material to verify its accuracy and authenticity have already concluded that Steele has proven to be a highly reliable intelligence source in the past, making his assertions this time more believable.
In addition, prior investigations by various news organizations have suggested that Donald Trump may owe considerable sums of money to Russian oligarchs and banks, making him extremely vulnerable to pressure from Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
This most recent report also apparently includes rather salacious suggestions that Donald Trump, while in Moscow in 2013 and staying at the Ritz Carlton, engaged the services of two prostitutes. In the leaked report, United States intelligence agencies report indications that Russian intelligence might have video of this encounter, which supposedly included a sexual practice known as “golden showers.”
https://twitter.com/PaulChatlain/status/819145141759995904
Given the extremely scandalous nature of such financial, personal, and sexual information on the incoming president, it’s hardly surprising that the Donald Trump Twitter account would be plastered with his denunciations and denials.
However, it’s also true that Donald Trump has frequently denied doing things – such as mocking disabled reporters or making sexually offensive comments about women – despite video or audio evidence that he did.
MStreep speech re-opened subject of Trump mocking disabled reporter. TV Trump-bots, tell us not to believe our eyes, ears & brains…again.
— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) January 10, 2017
It’s an open question whether Donald Trump as president will allow these investigations to proceed. Will we see Donald Trump Twitter account attacks against his own administration’s intelligence agencies?
[Featured Image by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images]
