Trump's Strong Criticism of New Claims Regarding Russian Intelligence

The elected President of the United States has strongly criticized reports regarding an alleged assessment by the U.S. intelligence community that Russia possesses 'exploitable information' against him, labeling it as 'fake news.' News agencies and media, including Reuters and the Associated Press, have quoted officials in the U.S. government stating that 'the heads of the U.S. intelligence community recently informed the elected President that there is an unverified report indicating that Russia has personal and financial information about Donald Trump that could be exploited.' The initial report was presented by CNN, which stated that a summary of this claim was included in their assessments of 'Russian cyber interference' in the presidential election. This report has also been referenced by other media outlets such as Fox. Shortly after, Donald Trump reacted on Twitter, stating that this 'fake news is a complete political witch hunt.' The elected President subsequently posted a report on his Twitter criticizing the dissemination of 'fake news' and unverified information in 'leftist media,' describing these actions as a violation of all journalistic principles. Reuters, citing a U.S. government official, reports that the FBI and other American agencies are conducting investigations regarding the claims made. This allegation was part of reports provided to Democrats and U.S. officials last year and originates from a former British security official. However, this claim appears to be old news, as the Associated Press states it has been circulating in Washington political circles for months. According to the same agency, Harry Reid wrote a letter to the FBI Director requesting clarification regarding the agency's knowledge about the Trump campaign's relations with Russia, indicating he was aware of the existence of this claim. James Comey, the FBI Director, stated on Tuesday that he would not comment in an open session about whether his agency is investigating any 'connections' between the Trump campaign and Russia. Democratic senators have demanded explanations from Mr. Comey. On the other hand, Senator Marco Rubio, who was a rival of Trump in the Republican primaries, stated that Russia's actions were not to support Trump but to create the perception among the American public that 'chaos and division exist among politicians and the legitimacy of the elections is in doubt.' Reuters, citing a current U.S. government official who will be replaced by Trump's administration in ten days, reports that investigators have not yet been able to confirm the validity of claims regarding financial or personal relationships between Trump and Russian businessmen or those working for Russian intelligence agencies. Additionally, some of these claims contain inaccuracies; for example, the Associated Press pointed out a 'misspelling of the name of the largest Russian bank.'