Donald Trump rails against report that his promise to foreign leader prompted whistle-blower complaint
- US leader tweets about ‘presidential harassment’ as he calls report ‘fake news’
- Intelligence community inspector general considers complaint credible and of ‘urgent concern’, but US spy chief won’t share details with lawmakers
US President Donald Trump disputed a report on Thursday that his interaction with a foreign leader had prompted an official in the US intelligence community to file a formal whistle-blower complaint, saying it was inconceivable that he would say anything inappropriate on a heavily monitored phone call.
“Virtually any time I speak on the phone to a foreign leader, I understand that there may be many people listening from various US agencies, not to mention those from the other country itself,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
“Knowing all of this, is anybody dumb enough to believe that I would say something inappropriate with a foreign leader while on such a potentially ‘heavily populated’ call? I would only do what is right anyway, and only do good for the USA!”
Trump dismissed the report as “Fake News” and said in another tweet that he was subject to “Presidential Harassment!”
Trump’s interaction with the foreign leader included a “promise” that was regarded as so troubling that it prompted the intelligence official to file a whistle-blower complaint with the inspector general for the intelligence community, according to two former US officials familiar with the matter.
