President-elect Donald Trump raged against his political opponents and the intelligence community in an early-morning tweetstorm Friday.
He called the 35-page dossier of allegations against him made public this week "phony" and said it included "totally made up facts by sleazebag political operatives."
"It now turns out that the phony allegations against me were put together by my political opponents and a failed spy afraid of being sued," Trump tweeted. "Totally made up facts by sleazebag political operatives, both Democrats and Republicans — FAKE NEWS!"
He continued: "Russia says nothing exists. Probably released by 'Intelligence' even knowing there is no proof, and never will be. My people will have a full report on hacking within 90 days!"
The dossier contained unverified claims about Trump's activities in Russia and suggested his campaign coordinated with Kremlin officials. It was compiled by a former British intelligence officer commissioned by Trump's political opponents during the presidential campaign.
The document had been circulating at the highest levels of the US government and intelligence community. As part of classified briefing materials on Russia's efforts to influence the election, intelligence officials provided Trump with a two-page summary of the dossier last week. CNN first reported Tuesday that Trump had been presented with the summary, and BuzzFeed then published the entire dossier, which had also been circulating among journalists.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said earlier this week that he spoke with Trump about the document and said he was dismayed by the fact that it had been made public. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, as well as top members of Congress on intelligence matters, were also briefed on the document.
