Washington - US President Donald Trump
said on Sunday that many of the leaks from the White House were
"fake news," following reports his son-in-law tried to set up a
secret channel of communications with Moscow before Trump took
office.
Trump returned to the White House after a nine-day trip to
the Middle East and Europe that ended on Saturday to face more
questions about alleged communications between his son-in-law
Jared Kushner and Russia's ambassador to Washington.
"It is my opinion that many of the leaks coming out of the
White House are fabricated lies made up by the #FakeNews media,"
Trump wrote in a series of Twitter posts on Sunday.
Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, had
contacts with Moscow in December about opening a secret back
channel of communications, according to news reports published
while Trump was away on his trip.
It is my opinion that many of the leaks coming out of the White House are fabricated lies made up by the #FakeNews media.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2017
Kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts
with the Russian ambassador to the United States during and
after the 2016 presidential campaign, seven current and former
US officials told Reuters.
Whenever you see the words 'sources say' in the fake news media, and they don't mention names....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2017
"Whenever you see the words 'sources say' in the fake news
media, and they don't mention names ... it is very possible
that those sources don't exist but are made up by fake news
writers. #FakeNews is the enemy!" Trump wrote.
....it is very possible that those sources don't exist but are made up by fake news writers. #FakeNews is the enemy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2017
Trump's tweets came as the media reported that the White
House was preparing to establish a "war room" to combat mounting
questions about ties between Russia and his presidential
campaign.
Contacts between Trump associates and Russian officials
during the campaign coincided with what US intelligence
agencies concluded was a Kremlin effort through computer
hacking, fake news and propaganda to boost Trump's chances of
winning the White House.