Rejecting a claim by Donald Trump, a Toronto Star reporter says Bloomberg News journalists were not the source of a bombshell leak of the president’s inflammatory “off the record” remarks about trade negotiations with Canada.

Daniel Dale, the Star’s Washington bureau chief, made the statement Saturday after Trump unleashed attacks against the Bloomberg journalists for allegedly breaking a promise that his remarks during an Oval Office interview with Bloomberg were “off the record.”

“I don’t want to be party to the president’s smearing of excellent, ethical journalists. So I can say this: none of the Bloomberg interviewers was my source,” Dale said in a tweet. “The president is incorrect when he claims he was wronged by his interviewers.”

Dale said he will continue to protect the source’s identity.

Bloomberg published a transcript of its interview that quoted Trump saying the U.S. was “close to a deal” with Canada; however, the transcript did not include Trump’s “off the record” comment that he is not making any compromises at all with Canada.

Dale wrote an article revealing Trump’s remarks, which the president told Bloomberg journalists he could not make publicly because “it’s going to be so insulting they’re not going to be able to make a deal.”

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Dale’s report on Trump’s secret comments upended already tense trade talks, as Canadian negotiators viewed the remarks as evidence of their suspicions that the U.S. was not making a legitimate effort to compromise.

In a Friday afternoon tweet, Trump lashed out at Bloomberg over the leak, complaining of “dishonest reporting” even as he confirmed he had made the remarks.

Shortly after, while giving a speech in Charlotte, N.C., the president again called the leak a breach of his trust.

“It’s unbelievable what’s happening with the fake news. It’s unbelievable. When you say off the record, that’s a very — it’s not a legal term, but it’s a term of honour,” the president said. “These are very dishonourable people. But I said, in the end it’s OK, because at least Canada knows how I feel. So, it’s fine. It’s fine. It’s true.”

About five hours later, still evidently angry that his remarks were made public, Trump tweeted another missive: “Still can’t believe that Bloomberg violated a firm OFF THE RECORD statement. Will they put out an apology?”

Trump gave the interview to Bloomberg News on Thursday. He said “off the record” that he planned not to make any compromises with Canada, adding that he could not say this publicly because “it’s going to be so insulting they’re not going to be able to make a deal.”

“Here’s the problem. If I say no — the answer’s no. If I say no, then you’re going to put that and it’s going to be so insulting they’re not going to be able to make a deal … I can’t kill these people,” Trump said of the Canadian government.

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In another remark he did not want published, Trump said that any deal with Canada would be “totally on our terms.” He suggested he was scaring the Canadians into submission by repeatedly threatening to impose tariffs on imports of Canadian-made cars.

Bloomberg agreed to Trump’s request to keep the comments off the record. The Star is not bound by any promises Bloomberg made to the president and chose to publish the quotes after they became a part of the trade negotiations.

In an interview, Dale said the president’s comments about the Bloomberg reporters compelled him to take the “unusual” step of making a statement about the identity of a source.

“In the interest of protecting a source, we usually won’t comment at all. We’ll let people speculate and just say nothing,” Dale said. “In this case, we have the president of the United States using the disclosure of this information to essentially smear people who had nothing to do with it.

“I decided I could still protect my source as I promised, while making clear that the president and the claims he was making about the Bloomberg journalists were incorrect.”

Toronto Star editor Irene Gentle emphasized that protecting sources “is of ultimate importance to the Star.”

“Our policy — and our obligation — is that we keep our promises to protect a source’s identity. We are confident that Daniel Dale’s assertion that Bloomberg interviewers — who have been the subject of unfair allegations — were not involved in any leak in no way endangers the confidentiality of the source. This is in line with our clear obligation and standards,” Gentle said.

Confidential sources are sometimes used by the Star when a story is in the public interest. Their identity is known to the reporter and at least one senior editor.

Dale said he welcomes the discussion on the journalistic ethics of reporting on “off the record” comments made between the president and another news outlet, but said he did not want it to detract from the “substance of the story.”

“I think what’s important is that the president himself confirmed this wasn’t ‘fake news.’ He confirmed that the Star’s story was accurate and we accurately conveyed his comments. I think it was a meaningful story of national and international interest,” Dale said.

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