Former CIA Director John Brennan has said that United States President Donald Trump's comment during a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin was "nothing short of treasonous."
"Donald Trump's press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of "high crimes & misdemeanors." It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump's comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???," Brennan tweeted.
The US President, during the press conference, had stated that he trusted Putin over the American intelligence community and his own appointees, he attacked the investigation from special counsel Robert Mueller that recently led to the indictments of 12 Russian intelligence officers for crimes related to the 2016 election
Trump received massive backlash over his comments during the conference with Putin, with former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel also saying that Trump has "failed America today."
"I would not have said it the way John (Brennan) said it. John can say it the way he wants to say it. But as to impeachment, we'll see how this plays out. That's a congressional responsibility and the Congress must do what they think is in the best interest of this country," Hagel told CNN.
According to the report, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper branded the news conference as "truly unbelievable."
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Trump endorsed Putin's stance on Russia's non-involvement in the 2016 US Presidential election, insisting that he ran a 'clean campaign'.
"There was no collusion at all. Everybody knows it," he said.
Trump also mentioned that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign was "a disaster for our country," while also saying that it had negatively impacted US-Russia relations.
As per several media reports, Brennan has called on members of President Trump's Cabinet to resign in protest following the news conference, questioning as to how US State Secretary Mike Pompeo, national security adviser John Bolton and chief of staff John Kelly "can continue in their jobs"
"I cannot understand how the national security team can continue to abide by this and how Pompeo and Bolton and Kelly can continue in their jobs," Brennan said on MSNBC.