Biden: Intel officials told us Trump allegations might leak
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that top intelligence leaders told him and President Barack Obama they felt obligated to inform them about uncorroborated allegations about President-elect Donald Trump out of concern the information would become public and catch them off-guard.
In an interview, Biden said neither he nor Obama asked U.S. intelligence agencies to try to corroborate the unverified claims that Russia had obtained compromising sexual and financial allegations about Trump.
In the hourlong session with The Associated Press and other news outlets, the vice president was sharply critical of Trump for publicly disparaging intelligence officials, saying Trump was damaging U.S. standing and playing into Russia's hands.
Trump has vehemently denied the allegations included in a dossier about close coordination between Trump's inner circle and Russians.
The dossier was compiled by a former Western intelligence operative and had been circulating among news organizations and intelligence agencies in Washington for months.
Biden said at least five foreign leaders have already contacted him expressing concern over Trump's second-guessing of U.S. intelligence agencies.
After nearly half a century in public office, Biden will exit the national stage next Friday, although he plans to stay active in Democratic politics and work on policy issues at a pair of institutes he's developing at the University of Delaware and the University of Pennsylvania.