Trump Unloads On U.S. Intelligence Community In Latest Twitter Meltdown: ‘Are We Living In Nazi Germany?’
President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday, firing off a series of angry tweets in response to media reports about a document in the hands of the FBI making damaging allegations of ties with Russia and that Russian intelligence agencies have “compromising information” about him.
The reports by several major news outlets, including BuzzFeed and CNN, were based on a 35-page document compiled from information obtained by a former British spy. But BuzzFeed, which published the entire dossier, and CNN admitted that the allegations contained in the report had not been verified by the intelligence agencies. FBI and CIA officials also reportedly said that they had investigated the report but found “no link” between Trump and the Kremlin as the document alleged.
“Intel and law enforcement officials agree that none of the investigations have found any conclusive or direct link between Trump and the Russian government period.”
After expressing outrage on Tuesday that media outlets would publish the unverified document and take any of the largely unsubstantiated allegations in the report seriously, Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to direct his sense of outrage against the intelligence agencies.
He blamed the intelligence agencies for allowing a dossier containing unsubstantiated allegations to be leaked, asking, “Are we living in Nazi Germany?”
He insisted on his innocence, saying that he has “nothing to do with Russia” and that the allegations were politically-motivated attacks against him.
Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to "leak" into the public. One last shot at me.Are we living in Nazi Germany?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2017
Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA – NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2017
I win an election easily, a great "movement" is verified, and crooked opponents try to belittle our victory with FAKE NEWS. A sorry state!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2017
Russia just said the unverified report paid for by political opponents is "A COMPLETE AND TOTAL FABRICATION, UTTER NONSENSE." Very unfair!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2017
“Fake News – A Total Political Witch Hunt!” Trump had raged on Twitter on Tuesday in reference to media reports about the allegation that Russia has damaging information about him. He went to declare on Wednesday that he has “no deals, no loans, no nothing” with Russia. He insisted that the reports were “unfair” and claimed that “Russia has never tried to use leverage over me.”
But some news reports noted that despite Trump’s loud claims that he has “no deals, no loans, no nothing” with Russia, the facts about his financial and business ties with Russia, if any, are difficult to verify because he has refused to release his tax returns. Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns contrasts sharply with the decision by U.S. presidents since Jimmy Carter to release their task returns.
His political opponents and detractors point to a statement attributed to his son Donald Trump Jr. that implied, contrary to Trump’s Twitter assertions, that his businesses have benefited greatly from Russian funds.
“Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,” Trump Jr. said during a real estate conference in 2008, according to the Washington Post.
However, this is not the first time that Trump has cast doubt on reports and findings by U.S. intelligence agencies. He denied previous intelligence reports that the Russians interfered in the 2016 general election with the purpose of helping him defeat Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.
The president-elect’s denial of U.S. intelligence reports on alleged Russian interference in the country’s democratic process has caused an increasing gulf between him and intelligence officials. The gulf was revealed in recent media reports that Trump had stopped receiving daily intelligence briefings.
The 35-page dossier containing damaging allegations against Trump, published by BuzzFeed on Tuesday, contained largely unsubstantiated allegations that the Russian government has been cultivating close ties with Trump for about five years by providing assistance, including financial and business assistance. The document also claimed that Russian intelligence agencies obtained compromising information about Trump that could be used to blackmail him.
It claimed specifically that during a trip to Moscow in 2013, Trump was filmed watching prostitutes perform lewd acts in a hotel room that President Barack Obama and previously occupied.
The dossier also contained allegations that Trump and his aides had cooperated with Russian hackers who hacked the Democratic Party systems.
The dossier, reportedly compiled from information obtained from a former British spy who was hired by Trump’s political opponents, was circulated widely to officials and media outlets before the 2016 election. The Arizona Republican Senator John McCain also obtained a copy of the report from a foreign source and forwarded it personally to FBI Director James Comey, according to the Guardian.
The damaging allegations contained in the document were raised during a recent classified intelligence briefing to President Obama and President-elect Trump.
According to NBC News, two U.S. officials confirmed that materials used during an intelligence briefing for Trump included a two-page document giving a overview of the allegations. But a senior U.S. intelligence official appeared to contradict the claim when he told NBC News that Trump was not briefed on the two-page addendum to the 35-page dossier.
However, the apparent contradiction was later resolved by other officials who told NBC News that although the written summary was included in the material prepared for the briefing, the document was not handed to Trump. Officials in charge only gave him an oral briefing.
Meanwhile, the Russian government has denied the unverified allegations, describing them as a “total hoax.”
“The Kremlin does not have compromising information about Trump,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, according to the Washington Post. “It’s a total hoax, absolute fabrication and utter nonsense. The Kremlin does not collect compromising information.”
[Featured Image by Evan Vucci/Shutterstock]
