WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (UPI) — Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said he told Donald Trump that U.S. intelligence agencies did not leak a dossier alleging Russia had damaging data on the president-elect.
The report was given to multiple news agencies and included unsubstantiated personal and financial information Russia has about Trump.
“I emphasized that this document is not a U.S. Intelligence Community product and that I do not believe the leaks came from within the IC,” Clapper said in a statement Wednesday. “The IC has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable, and we did not rely upon it in any way for our conclusions.”
On Tuesday, it was reported intelligence officials who briefed President Barack Obama and Trump last week about Russia’s possible meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election included a two-page addendum detailing the unverified compromising information.
The addendum was based on a privately funded, unverified report by a former British MI6 operative, which alleged the Kremlin was “cultivating, supporting and assisting” Trump for at least five years.
“I expressed my profound dismay at the leaks that have been appearing in the press, and we both agreed that they are extremely corrosive and damaging to our national security,” Clapper wrote.
In reference to the two-page addendum, Clapper said that it is the intelligence community’s obligation to “ensure that policymakers are provided with the fullest possible picture of any matters that might affect national security.”
Trump addressed his conversation with Clapper in a tweet posted Thursday morning.
“James Clapper called me yesterday to denounce the false and fictitious report that was illegally circulated. Made up, phony facts.Too bad!” he wrote.
Some have alleged Moscow is using the information to blackmail the president-elect. Trump denied the reports as “fake news,” while President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman denied the Kremlin had compromising information on Trump, calling the spy’s report “pulp fiction.”
