Trump targets former CIA Director John Brennan, quoting a pundit on 'Fox & Friends'
- President Donald Trump turned his fire on Obama-era CIA Director John Brennan on Monday morning.
- He quoted a segment from "Fox & Friends" in which pundit Dan Bongino blamed Brennan for the politically damaging Trump-Russia scandal.
- Brennan, who ran the CIA from 2003 to January 2017, is an outspoken critic of Trump.
President Donald Trump launched a social media attack on John Brennan, the former director of the CIA, effectively claiming that the politically damaging Trump-Russia scandal is all his fault.
Trump's Monday morning attack came in the form of a long quote from a segment on "Fox and Friends" earlier that morning, in which pro-Trump pundit Dan Bongino launched an attack on Brennan, who ran the CIA under Obama.
He highlighted a section where Bongino said Brennan "started this entire debacle about President Trump," and in the process "disgraced himself," ruined public faith in the intelligence services, and brought shame on the US.
Here is the quote in full, as cited by Trump across three tweets (here is the first, second, and third):
"John Brennan is panicking. He has disgraced himself, he has disgraced the Country, he has disgraced the entire Intelligence Community.
"He is the one man who is largely responsible for the destruction of American's faith in the Intelligence Community and in some people at the top of the FBI. Brennan started this entire debacle about President Trump.
"We now know that Brennan had detailed knowledge of the (phony) Dossier...he knows about the Dossier, he denies knowledge of the Dossier, he briefs the Gang of 8 on the Hill about the Dossier, which they then used to start an investigation about Trump.
"It is that simple. This guy is the genesis of this whole Debacle. This was a Political hit job, this was not an Intelligence Investigation. Brennan has disgraced himself, he's worried about staying out of Jail."
Trump didn't cite his source beyond naming Bongino. But Boningo, a former Secret Service agent who has run for office in Florida, said the words during a segment on "Fox & Friends" earlier Monday morning.
"Fox & Friends" is known to be one of Trump's favored news shows, and often provides material for his morning tweetstorms.
Some guests have taken to directly addressing Trump when they are on air, often because they are so certain he is watching.
The document Trump mentions is the infamous Christopher Steele dossier, which included lurid allegations that Russia has recordings of the president engaged in an obscene act with prostitutes in Moscow.
Brennan, who ran the CIA from 2003 to January 2017, has been an outspoken critic of Trump, and has said he believes it is plausible that Russia could have compromising material on the president.
He frequently attacks Trump on social media. Yesterday evening, Brennan issued a plea to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan to stop Trump from pursuing the "disastrous" path of trying to undermine the Russia investigation while it is still active.
A few hours earlier, Brennan posted a message that seemed to described Trump as "an idiot."
The special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 US election, the Trump campaign's possible involvement, and whether Trump has obstructed justice in the course of his probe.
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with the investigation, which is now in its second year, and has repeatedly called for its conclusion, deeming it a "political witch hunt."
Bongino responded to the president's attention by insulting liberals tweeting at him.
"Thoroughly enjoying police-state liberals and their media acolytes all over my twitter timeline this morning," he tweeted. "Suck it up buttercups. Have a splendid day."