Donald Trump Compares Intelligence Community To 'Nazi Germany,' Says He Won't Divest

NEW YORK CITY, NY — In his first formal press conference since July, President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday blasted reports that Russia has obtained compromising information about him as "fake news" and said he will not divest from his sprawling business empire.

Trump also defended a comparison he had made on Twitter between American intelligence agencies and Nazi Germany, saying that making classified intelligence public is something German officials at that time "would have done." Trump acknowledged, for the first time, that Russia was behind the hack of the Democratic National Committee and said President Vladimir Putin "shouldn't be doing it."

He held the news conference at Trump Tower in a room jam-packed with reporters, his family and other members of his administration. It was shown on all the major cable news stations and on network news.

Many questions focused on Tuesday's reports that Trump and President Obama were briefed on intelligence that Russians may have compromising information on president-elect. Buzzfeed published a 35-page dossier of allegations, prepared by a former British intelligence official as opposition research, that it said had been circulating through the highest levels of government for weeks.

Trump praised most news organizations for not publishing the unsubstantiated claims contained in the dossier, the contents of which Trump said he has seen. And he called Buzzfeed a "failing pile of garbage" for making them public.

Besides Buzzfeed, Trump also singled out CNN's reporting by name, calling the two outlets' work a "pathetic attempt to get clicks." At one point, Trump shut down CNN reporter Jim Acosta, who was attempting to ask him a question, pointing a finger at Acosta and declaring, "You're fake news."

CNN was the first to break the story of the intelligence briefing Tuesday evening, and its story was careful to not name specific allegations contained in the dossier. Buzzfeed, though, published the dossier in its entirety and said the claims contained in it could not be verified.

CNN has since updated its story and linked to Buzzfeed's publication of the full documents but continued to note that it could not confirm any of the claims made within them.

Trump also defended his comparison, made in a Wednesday morning Twitter post, of the intelligence agencies to "Nazi Germany."

"I think it was disgraceful that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out," Trump said when asked to elaborate on the comparison. "That's something that Nazi Germany would have done — and did do. I think it's a disgrace that information that was false and fake and never happened got released to the public.

"As far as Buzzfeed, which is a failing pile of garbage, writing it, they're going to suffer the consequences."

Trump and one of his attorneys, Sheri Dillon, said that the president-elect will not divest from his sprawling business interests, instead handing over control of his company to his two adult sons. Dillon added that all of the company's profits from foreign government payments to his hotels will be donated to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Trump reiterated that being president exempts him from all conflicts-of-interest law, saying, "I have have no conflict situation because I'm president." He said he was offered a $2 billion deal in Dubai that he turned down.

He also said he will not be releasing his tax returns because they are under an IRS audit.

"You know, the only one who cares about my tax returns are the reporters," Trump said.

Trump has occasionally taken questions from pool reporters in the Trump Tower lobby, outside of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, and at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey. But the president-elect had not formally faced the media since winning the presidency on Nov. 7.

A press conference scheduled for December to address his conflicts of interest was abruptly cancelled. His last press conference came in July, when he called on Russia to hack into Hillary Clinton's State Department emails and make them public.

Trump's Wednesday press conference was expected to be closely watched across the country. Major cable news stations were broadcasting countdown clocks until the event's scheduled start time.

Watch a full replay of Trump's press conference below:

While Trump couldn't have planned against it, the timing of his press conference couldn't be much worse for the president-elect.

CNN first reported Tuesday evening that Trump and President Obama's intelligence briefings on Russian interference in America's election included claims that Russia may have compromising information on the president-elect.

After The Washington Post and The New York Times published similar accounts — not detailing specific allegations that could not be confirmed — Buzzfeed published a full dossier of intelligence that was put together by a former British intelligence official.

Trump lashed out at the leaks Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, calling them "FAKE NEWS."

"FAKE NEWS - A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!" Trump tweeted Tuesday night.

On Wednesday morning, he incorrectly quoted the Kremlin, which denied details in the dossier published by Buzzfeed.

"Russia has never tried to use leverage over me," Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. "I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA - NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!"

Trump's last press conference was notable for his call for Russia to hack Clinton's emails.

“Russia, if you’re listening," he said at the time, "I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing."

After the comments drew bipartisan criticism, Trump said he was only joking.

“Of course I’m being sarcastic," he told Fox News.

Image via Gage Skidmore, Flickr, used under Creative Commons