Trump: Intel head denounced ‘false’ dossier in call

Donald Trump said early Thursday that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told him he condemns unverified allegations about the president-elect’s connections to Russia.

“Made up, phony facts.Too bad!” the president-elect tweeted.

James Clapper called me yesterday to denounce the false and fictitious report that was illegally circulated. Made up, phony facts.Too bad!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2017

Clapper said late Wednesday he had spoken with Trump about a unsubstantiated document claiming Russia has compromising information about the president-elect.

{mosads}“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 said in a statement.

BuzzFeed late Tuesday published the controversial document, which was allegedly compiled by a former British intelligence officer. It alleges that Russia’s government possesses compromising financial and personal information about Trump. It also claims people close to Trump kept in touch with Moscow during the 2016 presidential race.

Clapper on Wednesday said the report had neither been authenticated nor leaked to the media by the U.S. intelligence community.

“I emphasized that this document is not a U.S. Intelligence Community product and that I do no believe the leaks came from within the IC,” he said. “The IC has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable, and we do not rely upon it in any way for our conclusions.”

The intelligence community released a report last week that concluded Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an influence campaign to help Trump win the 2016 presidential election.

Trump has fiercely dismissed similar reports, arguing they are attempts to undermine his victory.

— This report was updated at 7:55 a.m.