Putin: US pols may have ‘political schizophrenia,' or be ‘stupid' or ‘dangerous'
MOSCOW (WTXF/AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is speaking out on relations with the United States on this Wednesday.
He dismissed the ongoing scandal around President Donald Trump sharing classified intelligence with Russian officials as "political schizophrenia."
Earlier this week, Trump came under fire after it was revealed he shared the sensitive intelligence with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak.
Wednesday, Putin -- speaking at a joint news conference with the visiting Italian prime minister -- said he had "no other explanation" as to why Trump came under attack other than "political schizophrenia."
He even described U.S. politicians whipping up "anti-Russian sentiment" as either "stupid" or "dangerous"
Plus, Putin suggested Russia share the records of last week's talks between Trump and Lavrov with the U.S. Congress, if the White House approved.
Putin joked that he would reprimand Lavrov because "he hasn't shared those secrets with us."
Still, the Kremlin isn't commenting on the details of the information Trump shared.
Tuesday, the White House defended Trump discussing an Islamic State group terror threat related to the use of laptop computers on aircraft with Lavrov and Kislyak
Wednesday Yuri Ushakov, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, said "any contacts" with the U.S. president are "important" but he wouldn’t reply to the question whether the classified information that Trump reportedly shared with Lavrov and Kislyak was valuable for Russia.
Late Tuesday, the White House issued a furious denial after the notes were disclosed that Trump personally appealed to FBI Director James Comey to abandon the bureau's investigation into National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, according to notes Comey wrote after the meeting.
The bombshell Comey news came as the beleaguered administration was still struggling mightily to explain Monday's revelation about the classified information.
Trump's officials played down the importance and secrecy of the information, which had been supplied by Israel under an intelligence-sharing agreement, and Trump himself said he had "an absolute right" as president to share "facts pertaining to terrorism" and airline safety with Russia.