Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest suggested that Vladimir Putin, who said the Obama Administration is seeking to “delegitimize” the president-elect, may be taking its cues from the Trump team.
Putin suggested the outgoing Obama administration was trying to undermine Trump by spreading “fake” rumors despite Trump’s “convincing” victory.
“First of all it seems like he got his copy of the talking points,” Earnest told ABC News’ Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl.
“From who?” Karl asked.
“Well I don’t know,” Earnest said. “It certainly sounds a lot like what the incoming administration’s team is saying.”
The response from Trump and his team to a leaked dossier with unsubstantiated allegations that Russia holds compromising info on the president-elect has been swift, dismissing the claims as “fake news” and “nonsense.”
Trump, who has been at odds with the intelligence community, even suggested that intelligence agencies “allowed” the dossier to be leaked, despite the Director of National Intelligence saying that it had been circulated for months before the intelligence community became aware of it.
Clapper also said “this document is not a U.S. Intelligence Community product and that I do not believe the leaks came from within the IC,” according to the statement.
The spat became a war of words between Trump and outgoing CIA Director John Brennan, who Trump suggested Sunday evening could be the “leaker” behind the document.
Earnest said Trump’s “deeply misguided” comments lined up almost directly with Putin’s accusations.
“Particularly to call into question the integrity of somebody like John Brennan, somebody who has served at the CIA for three decades, somebody who has served the country in dangerous locations around the world to try to keep us safe. I’m offended by it,” Earnest said.
Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
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