Graham ‘wouldn’t put it past’ Russia to plant Trump dossier story

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) suggested Thursday that the Kremlin may have leaked the story that President-elect Donald Trump was briefed on an unverified dossier alleging that Russia had collected salacious information on him.

“The first thing I thought of was we should all be suspicious of this because I wouldn’t put it past the Russians to plant this story,” Graham said during an appearance on Fox News’s “The O’Reilly Factor.”

Trump accused the U.S. intelligence community on Wednesday of leaking the story to the press, but Director of National Intelligence James Clapper rejected that claim.

Clapper condemned the leaks as “corrosive and damaging to our national security” but said he did not believe intelligence officials passed the information on to journalists.

{mosads}Graham on Thursday also admonished media outlets for reporting on the story, saying it gave the dossier undue credibility and was editorially irresponsible.

BuzzFeed was the only major media organization to publish the 35-page report in full.

“People in your business have got to decide, you know, what is in the best interest of our country and the public,” Graham told Bill O’Reilly.

“To indicate that a report has been briefed by the president, that there’s no foundation if it’s true or not, to me seems to be a disservice to the country.”

CNN first reported on Tuesday that senior intelligence officials had briefed President Obama and Trump last week on a two-page addendum summarizing unverified memos claiming that Russia had collected compromising information on Trump and had tried to bribe him with real estate deals.

Members of Trump’s transition team have denied that the president-elect was briefed on the addendum. But CNN reported Thursday evening that FBI Director James Comey had personally presented the information to Trump last week.

During his appearance on O’Reilly’s show Thursday night, Graham urged Trump to strike a harsher tone on Russia, noting that the president-elect has seemed far too eager to get along with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I want a better relationship with Russia as much as you do; as much as Trump does,” Graham said.

“But the one thing I’m convinced of: You’ll never have a better relationship forgiving [Putin] for all his misdeeds. A better relationship would mean he no longer tries to destroy democracy around the world, interfere in our elections, kill his opponents and steal his people blind.”