Staff Reporter
WASHINGTON — President Trump and his backers loved WikiLeaks last year when it released hacked Democratic emails, but they don’t sound too crazy about the leaks of CIA surveillance capabilities.
While refusing to confirm or deny the authenticity of supposedly secret CIA documents released by WikiLeaks, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Wednesday that “this alleged leak should concern every single American in terms of the impact it has on our national security.”
And as for past WikiLeaks releases?
Spicer said there’s a difference between exposing the emails of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and other Democratic officials, and leaking national security secrets.
“There is a massive, massive difference,” the Trump spokesman said.
Last fall, Trump celebrated WikiLeaks releases that touched on activities of the Clinton Foundation and on the Clinton campaign in general, even as government officials said the hacks resulted from efforts by the government of Russia.
“I love WikiLeaks,” Trump said during an October rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. “It’s amazing how nothing is secret today when you talk about the Internet.”
Asked about the latest dump by WikiLeaks — which claims the documents detail how the CIA can hack into a variety of items, from cellphones to televisions — Spicer pointed out that the alleged theft occurred during the end of the Obama administration.
“It is our policy as a government not to confirm the authenticity of any kind of disclosure or hack,” Spicer said. “That would be highly inappropriate for us. But you know all of these occurred under the last administration. That is important.”
Trump’s spokesman also said that Democrats and the media expressed more outrage over WikiLeaks last year than they are doing now.
“It’s interesting how there’s sort of a double standard with when the leaks occur, how much outrage there is,” he said.
