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| U.S. President-elect Donald Trump points his finger when he speaks at a press conference at Trump Tower on Jan. 11 in New York City. The President Elect spoke and answered questions on the turning over of his business to his children, email hacking and fake news. / UPI-Yonhap |
By Ko Dong-hwan
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has blasted the release of unsubstantiated intelligence reports of claims he indulged in a sex romp in Moscow.
"I think it was disgraceful, disgraceful that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out," Trump told a news conference in New York, only days before he takes office.
Several news organizations reported earlier this week that a former British spy had compiled a dossier of claims that Russian spy agencies have embarrassing information about Trump, including a sex video.
The salacious video was allegedly shot at a hotel in the Russian capital in 2013, according to reports by CNN, The New York Times and The Times. It allegedly shows the American property mogul frolicking with prostitutes.
Purportedly shot with the idea of potentially blackmailing Trump, the video was part of "compromising information" collected in Russia by a former M16 operative now providing commercial opposition research services, first to Republican Party rivals of Trump and then to the Hillary Clinton campaign, according to the Boston Herald.
The information also claimed that Russian officials and Trump representatives "discussed the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta," according to the report.
The leaked information reportedly revealed that the Russian government has been trying to compromise Trump for years during his frequent business visits to Moscow.
U.S. intelligence agency chiefs recently gave a classified, unsubstantiated two-page report about the information to Trump and President Barack Obama.
Trump reacted to the growing scandal about his connection to Russia on Twitter on Jan. 10, saying: "FAKE NEWS — A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!"
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