Donald Trump
Donald TrumpReuters

President-elect Donald Trump spoke with National Intelligence Director James Clapper on Wednesday regarding the now infamous leaked report on Mr. Trump publicized by Buzzfeed.

The report, which was compiled by a former British intel official turned campaign opposition research consultant, was referenced in a two-page dossier drawn up by US intelligence agencies and presented to both President Obama and President-elect Trump in regards to claims of Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election.

After the social media outlet Buzzfeed obtained the report, the document was publicized in its entirety, drawing heavy criticism from the incoming Trump administration as well as the Russian government.

According to the document, the Russian government allegedly possesses potentially compromising information on the President-elect, and was thus in a position to exert influence over his administration.

The Russian government quickly denied the claim, denouncing the report as an attempt to harm relations between the Kremlin and the incoming Trump administration.

Even Buzzfeed itself, which publicized the report, admitted that many of the claims were unverifiable, while others were manifestly false.

Trump lashed out on Wednesday, claiming the document was leaked by US intelligence officials. The President-elect even compared the move to the Nazi government of Germany in the 1930s and 1940s.

“Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to 'leak' into the public. One last shot at me. Are we living in Nazi Germany?,” Trump tweeted.

On Thursday, Trump again weighed in on the controversy, writing on Twitter that National Intelligence Director James Clapper contacted him in regards to the report.

“James Clapper called me yesterday to denounce the false and fictitious report that was illegally circulated. Made up, phony facts. Too bad!”

Some in the media joined the President-elect in condemning not only the apparent leak of the document, but the decision by Buzzfeed to publicize the report, noting Buzzfeed’s own recently declared war on “fake news”.

Buzzfeed chose to publicize the report even after distancing itself from the document, noting that “the document was prepared for political opponents of Trump.”