Director of National Intelligence talks to Trump about Russia report, news leaks

WASHINGTON (AP) — Director of National Intelligence James Clapper says he has spoken with Donald Trump about the unsubstantiated report claiming Russia had compromising personal and financial information about the president-elect.


Clapper says in a statement released Wednesday night that he told Trump the intelligence community "has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable."

The dossier contains unproven information about close coordination between Trump's inner circle and Russians about hacking into Democratic accounts as well as unproven claims about unusual sexual activities by Trump, among other suggestions attributed to anonymous sources. The Associated Press has not authenticated any of the claims.

Clapper also says he told Trump he does not believe any leaks from Friday's meeting between intelligence officials and Trump came from the intelligence community.

"This evening, I had the opportunity to speak with President-elect Donald Trump to discuss recent media reports about our briefing last Friday," Clapper said in a statement issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. "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.

"We also discussed the private security company document, which was widely circulated in recent months among the media, members of Congress and Congressional staff even before the IC (Intelligence Community) became aware of it. 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. 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. However, part of our obligation is to ensure that policymakers are provided with the fullest possible picture of any matters that might affect national security."