
Donald Trump has said that the Director of National Intelligence called him about the dirty dossier - and described it as to 'denounce the false and fictitious report that was illegally circulated'.

The intervention came the morning after an extraordinary public statement from the director, James Clapper, in which he said he was 'dismayed' at the leak of the discredited 35-page document claiming that Moscow had a dirt file on the president-elect which it would use to manipulate him.

But it is unclear whether it will end Trump's public feud with the intelligence community, which he accused at a press conference on Wednesday of misconduct.

And Clapper's condemnation of leaks did not address the central issue about the dossier - that it was included in briefing papers for the president-elect, giving Buzzfeed what it said was its justification for publishing them.

More details emerged on Thursday of how it was presented to the Trump team in a briefing from a senior intelligence official to NBC News, which was reported on MSNBC's Morning Joe.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told Donald Trump Wednesday evening that he did not believe leaks about the Russian dossier came from the US Intelligence Community

Clapper's statement said that he and Trump agreed that the leaks were 'corrosive and damaging to our national security' and that the dossier was 'NOT a US Intelligence Community project'

President-elect Trump claimed in tweet Thursday morning that Clapper denounced the report as 'false and fictitious' in their call on Wednesday

The official said that the two-page document summarizing the claims was given to the Trump transition team - but in a secure room in Washington D.C., and not in Trump Tower.

It was not referred to in the oral briefing in any form, the official told the broadcaster. The report backs up Trump's denial of any knowledge of the dossier until it emerged on Tuesday evening.

Placing it in a secure room would mean that it could not be copied or moved by the Trump team to take it to the president-elect and any discussion of it would have been on secure telephone lines or secure email.

However it also raises the question of who briefed the initial leaked story to CNN that the material had been presented to the president-elect - which was followed by Buzzfeed's publication.

Clapper himself said that he telephoned Trump and told him that he was 'dismayed' by leaks of a now discredited intelligence document.

During their phone call Clapper also told Trump that he did not believe the leaks of the claims, which have not been substantiated, came from within the US intelligence community.

The statement did not address whether the disclosure of the presence of the summary document in briefing materials came from the intelligence community - which is now the central point.

'I expressed my profound dismay at the leaks that have been appearing in the press, and we both agreed that they are extremely corrosive and damaging to our national security,' he said in a statement.

In the statement, which he released Wednesday night, he said that the document had been 'widely circulated... among the media' over the past few months before the US intelligence community (IC) became aware of it.

'I do not believe the leaks came from within the IC,' he said.

Those remarks appeared to be a response to Trump's remarks at a news conference in which he accused 'intelligence agencies' of leaking it.

'[The media] looked at that nonsense that was released by maybe the intelligence agencies,' he said.

'Who knows, it may be the intelligence agencies – which would be a tremendous blot of their record if they did that,' he added, in his latest shot at the intelligence community.

'A thing like that should have never been written … and it certainly should never have been released.'

Trump (seen Wednesday with his family) angrily refuted the discredited dodgy Russian dossier, which included allegations that he knew of Democratic hacks by Russia and that he paid Russian prostitutes to urinate on a hotel bed on which President Obama had once slept on in Moscow

Clapper added that the dossier did not factor into a report made earlier by the US agencies that concluded Russia had attempted to influence the US election to ensure a Trump presidency.

'The IC has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable, and we did not rely upon it in any way for our conclusions.'

'However,' he added, 'part of our obligation is to ensure that policymakers are provided with the fullest possible picture of any matters that might affect national security.'

CLAPPER'S STATEMENT IN FULL This evening, I had the opportunity to speak with President-elect Donald Trump to discuss recent media reports about our briefing last Friday. I expressed my profound dismay at the leaks that have been appearing in the press, and we both agreed that they are extremely corrosive and damaging to our national security. We also discussed the private security company document, which was widely circulated in recent months among the media, members of Congress and Congressional staff even before the IC became aware of it. I emphasized that this document is NOT a US Intelligence Community [IC] product and that I do not believe the leaks came from within the IC. The IC has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable, and we did not rely upon it in any way for our conclusions. However, part of our obligation is to ensure that policymakers are provided with the fullest possible picture of any matters that might affect national security. President-elect Trump again affirmed his appreciation for all the men and women serving in the Intelligence Community, and I assured him that the IC stands ready to serve his Administration and the American people. Advertisement

IC agents had discussed at length whether or not to tell Obama and Trump about the dossier, which was put together by a private security firm, The Washington Post said.

However, they concluded that they would be 'derelict' in their duty if they did not keep both parties fully informed, an unnamed US official told the paper.

A US official speaking on the condition of anonymity said the nature of the summary 'was fully explained' to Trump on Friday and 'put into context'.

However, Trump denied that claim at the press conference, saying he hadn't been briefed on the dossier at all before it appeared in the press.

Trump told reporters at a press conference that he had not been briefed about the dossier before it appeared in the press, though intelligence agents say he was

The discredited dossier contains unproven information about close coordination between Trump's inner circle and Russians about hacking into Democratic accounts.

It also contained claims about unusual sexual activities by Trump, saying he paid Russian prostitutes to urinate in front of him, among other suggestions attributed to anonymous sources.

Trump has loudly denounced all claims in the report as 'fake news'.

It was a tack he repeated in a news conference just hours before Clapper's statement, when he refused to ask a question of CNN reporter Jake Acosta.

Acosta repeatedly asked whether Trump would invite him to ask a question, but the President-elect talked over him, saying that he objected to CNN's coverage of the Russian report.

'Quiet. Don't be rude. Don’t be rude,' he said. 'No, I'm not going to give you a question. I'm not going to give you a question, you are fake news.'

He later tweeted that 'a couple of FAKE NEWS organizations' had been at his news conference - the second one being Buzzfeed, which printed the dossier in full.

'Fake': Trump denounced CNN and Buzzfeed as 'FAKE NEWS organizations' on Twitter, angry that they had reported on the Russian dossier

Dirty dossier of discredited allegations of sleaze Lurid sex claims The report states that in 2013 Trump hired prostitutes to urinate on the bed of the Presidential Suite at the Moscow Ritz Carlton, where he knew Barack and Michelle Obama had previously stayed. It says: 'Trump's unorthodox behavior in Russia over the years had provided the authorities there with enough embarrassing material on the now Republican presidential candidate to be able to blackmail him if they so wished.' Property 'sweeteners' The document states that Trump had declined 'sweetener' real estate deals in Russia that the Kremlin lined up in order to cultivate him. The business proposals were said to be 'in relation to the ongoing 2018 World Cup soccer tournament'. Russia 'cultivated' Trump for five years The dossier claimed that the Russian regime had been 'cultivating, supporting and assisting Trump for at least five years'. According to the document, one source even claimed that 'the Trump operation was both supported and directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin' with the aim being to 'sow discord'. Putin 'wanted to cause divisions in the West' The report claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin himself had endorsed moves to encourage 'splits and divisions in the West. A dossier on Hillary Clinton At one point the memo suggests Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov 'controlled' another dossier containing compromising material on Hillary Clinton compiled over 'many years'. Elsewhere in the document, it is claimed that Putin was 'motivated by fear and hatred of Hillary Clinton.' Clandestine meetings At one point the memo says there were reports of 'clandestine meetings' between Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen and Kremlin representatives in August last year in Prague. However, Trump's counsel Michael Cohen today spoke out against allegations that he secretly met with Kremlin officials. Advertisement

During his press conference last night, Trump, after growing suspicious that intelligence officials were leaking news about their classified briefings with him, said he conducted a sting operation to try to prove top spies were behind the leaks.

'I think it's pretty sad when intelligence reports get leaked out to the press. First of all, it's illegal. These are classified and certified meetings and reports,' Trump said during a press conference at Trump Tower – his first since getting elected.

Then he revealed the details of the stealthy sting he says he conducted on the nation’s senior spooks.

'I'll tell you what does happen. I have many meetings with intelligence. And every time I meet, people are reading about it,' Trump complained, possibly referencing reports on his classified briefings, which he has chosen not to receive daily.

WHY DID BUZZFEED RUN UNVERIFIABLE 'KREMLIN DOSSIER' CLAIMS? Buzzfeed followed up a report by CNN which disclosed the existence of the explosive dossier, but only gave a brief outline of the contents. The 35-page document, which had been collated by a former British Secret Intelligence Service agent had initially been handed over to the FBI in August. Buzzfeed's Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith wrote an email to his staff shortly after publishing the document. BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith sent a memo to his staff outlining the reasons why he published the Trump dossier despite reservations over its accuracy Smith said the dossier contained 'explosive and unverified allegations about Donald Trump and Russia'. He justified the decision to release the information to allow Americans 'to make up their own minds about the allegations' which had been circulated at the 'highest levels of the US government'. Smith claimed publishing the dossier was an example of 'transparent' journalism. Further down in his memo, he appeared to discredit his own story as 'there is serious reason to doubt the allegations'. He said Buzzfeed had been trying to stand up the allegations for 'weeks' - suggesting that it had failed to do so. Both the New York Times and the Washington Post said they had been handed the material and been unable to verify it. Advertisement

'Somebody’s leaking them out,' Trump said, after inveighing against leaks generally.

'So I said, "Maybe it's my office. Maybe my office." Because I've got a lot of people … Maybe it’s them?

'What I did, is I said I won’t tell anyone. I’m going to have a meeting, and I won't tell anybody about my meeting with intelligence,' Trump continued.

He even shielded one of his closest aides from word of the meeting.

'Nobody knew – not even Rhona, my executive assistant for years. She didn’t know – I didn’t tell her. Nobody knew,' Trump continued – drawing laughter from collected family members and staff.

It is believed that Christopher Steele once worked with murdered Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko (pictured, in hospital)

KREMLIN WRITES OFF MEMO AS 'NONSENSE' Russia has denied allegations that the Kremlin collected compromising information about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, dismissed news reports as a 'complete fabrication and utter nonsense.' He insisted that the Kremlin 'does not engage in collecting compromising material'. He added: 'There are those who pump up such a tantrum and do their best to maintain a 'witch hunt', and by the way this is how president-elect Trump characterised this fake. 'And why is the continuation of this hysterical state needed? To force our relationship to stay degraded. 'It is a complete fake - not worth the paper it was written on.' The memo also states that Peskov 'controlled' another dossier containing compromising material on Hillary Clinton compiled over 'many years'. But Peskov denied there was any such material. 'This was absolutely fabricated, this is total nonsense. This is what is called "pulp fiction".' Advertisement

Having set the trap, Trump says the word leaked anyway.

'The meeting was held. They left, and immediately the word got out that I had a meeting. So, I don’t want that. It's very unfair to the country. It's very unfair to our country what’s happening,' he said.

Thomas Barrett, chief of media relations for the Director of National Intelligence, declined to comment on the substance of Trump's alleged sting.

'I'm sorry, we have nothing to offer on this matter,' he told DailyMail.com.

It comes as it emerged that a former British spy has vanished after being named as the author of the 'dirty' file and fled his $1.9million mansion in fear telling his neighbour: 'Look after my cat.'

Ex-MI6 agent Christopher Steele was named as the author of the salacious Russian dossier.

Steele, 52, was seen fleeing his gated home yesterday and appears to have been in such a rush most of the lights were left on.

A security source said: 'He is terrified for his safety', adding he may now be abroad or in a safe house.

Mr Steele served MI6 for nearly two decades in Moscow and security sources say he once worked with murdered Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.

Litvinenko's wife Marina said last night she did not recognise the name Steele but admitted MI6 agents often have a number of different identities.

US journalists have spent recent weeks trying to track down Mr Steele for an interview, however he declined requests through an intermediary, who said the subject was 'too hot', reports the Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect has demanded an apology from Trump after he compared the US to Nazi Germany on Wednesday while responding to questions about the dossier.

Trump accused intelligence agencies for leaking the unverified dossier of damaging allegations about him, saying: 'That's something that Nazi Germany would have done'

The non-profit organization also started a Change.org petition demanding the president elect renounce his tweet and apologize

Steven Goldstein, the executive director of the Anne Frank Center, called it a 'despicable insult to Holocaust survivors' after Trump invoked the Third Reich on Twitter

Steven Goldstein, the executive director of the center, called it a 'despicable insult to Holocaust survivors' after the president-elect mentioned the Third Reich on Twitter and repeated the comparison during his press conference.

The billionaire, who is nine days away from his inauguration, accused intelligence agencies for leaking the dossier, which was said to have been put together by a former British counter-intelligence official from the UK as part of opposition research.

'That's something that Nazi Germany would have done and did do,' he told reporters in Manhattan.

He also tweeted: 'Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to 'leak' into the public. One last shot at me. Are we living in Nazi Germany?'

During his conference, he added: 'I think it was disgraceful, disgraceful that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out.

'I think it's a disgrace, and I say that ... that's something that Nazi Germany would have done and did do,' Trump told a news conference in New York.

Trump's comparison was slammed by the Anne Frank Center's executive director Steven Goldstein, who demanded an apology from the president elect.

'It is a despicable insult to Holocaust survivors around the world and to the nation he is about to lead, that Donald Trump compares America to Nazi Germany,' Goldstein said.

TIMELINE: HOW THE DOSSIER SCANDAL UNFOLDED 2007: The Ritz-Carlton opens in Moscow in 2007 2009: Barack Obama and his family stay there when they travel to the city 2013: Donald Trump visits Moscow to judge the Miss Universe pageant June 2015: Trump officially announces he is entering the race to become Republican presidential nominee 2015-16: A Republican rival hires an investigative firm to uncover dirt on Trump. By the time work has begun, Trump has won the primary vote but now a Democrat wants the same service Some of the allegations relate to a 2013 visit to Moscow of the Miss Universe competition where Trump is alleged to have paid two prostitutes to defile a bed during a bizarre sex act July 2016: A large amount of material has been gathered on Trump based on sources, which is believed to be of huge consequence, if true. The allegations are passed to the FBI September 2016: The FBI asks for more information but gets no reply October 28: FBI Director James Comey announces the bureau will be investigating Hillary Clinton over mishandling of confidential emails October 31: The document on Trump is leaked to David Corn, of the Mother Jones online political magazine who run a piece on the dossier without revealing its details November 9: Trump is elected President Later in November: The documents are mentioned in an intelligence report on Russian interference given to Barack Obama and possbily Trump November 18: John McCain discovers the contents of the document December 9: McCain hands the dossier directly to Comey January 11: CNN publishes the story on Trump, followed by an unredacted version by Buzzfeed Advertisement

'The president-elect has denigrated our nation and its commitment to freedom on the eve of his inauguration. He must retract his tweet and apologize to survivors and to our entire nation.'

Yesterday, sworn Trump enemy John McCain admitted he passed over the dossier of claims calling it 'what any citizen should do'.

McCain - a longstanding anti-Trump Republican who had disassociated himself from the candidate's campaign weeks before the election - cast himself as an innocent and concerned member of the public as he justified his move.

He claimed he had no idea whether it was accurate or not - but that he believed the FBI should have it because it was 'sensitive'.

'I did what any citizen should do. I received sensitive information and handed it to the FBI,' he told CNN - the network which broke the story that the document existed. It was then published in full by Buzzfeed.

'That's why I gave it to the FBI. I don't know if it is credible or not but the information I thought deserved to be delivered to the FBI, the appropriate agency of government.'

He added: 'It doesn't trouble me because I don't know if it is accurate or not. I have no way of corroborating that.

'The individual gave me the information. I looked at it. After receiving that information I took it to the FBI.'

The Arizona senator had issued a public statement amid mounting questions of his exact role in the affair - and how a document riddled with errors and unverifiable claims came to be published.

'Late last year, I received sensitive information that has since been made public,' he said.

'What any citizen should do': The Arizona senator, 80, claimed he was simply acting as a concerned member of the public when he had his face-to-face meeting with the FBI Director

John McCain admits he handed the report w over to FBI Director James Comey late last year. The agency were first handed parts of it in August

JOHN MCCAIN'S FEUD WITH DONALD TRUMP JULY 18, 2015 Donald Trump questions John McCain's war record claiming: 'He’s not a war hero. 'He’s a war hero because he was captured? I like people who weren’t captured.' AUGUST 1, 2016 McCain continues to endorse Trump's campaign, even though Trump attacked the Gold Star family of Captain Humayan Khan who was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq in 2004 OCTOBER 8 McCain withdrew his endorsement of Trump after audio of the reality TV star was leaked including the phrase 'grab her by the p****' DECEMBER 9 McCain meets FBI Director James Comey and hands over the Kremlin dossier assembled by a former British spy Advertisement

'Upon examination of the contents, and unable to make a judgment about their accuracy, I delivered the information to the Director of the FBI.

'That has been the extent of my contact with the FBI or any other government agency regarding this issue.'

But the 2008 Republican loser, who disowned his party's candidate weeks before the election, may have been far more intimately involved than that.

The chain of how the document reached the FBI is not officially known.

However Carl Bernstein, the Watergate reporter who contributed to the first story about its existence, published by CNN on Tuesday afternoon , suggested that McCain was handed it by a former British ambassador to Moscow.

Bernstein told CNN: 'It came from a former British MI6 agent who was hired from a political opposition research firm in Washington who was doing work about Donald Trump for both republican and democratic candidates opposed to Trump.

'They were looking at Trumps business ties, they saw some questionable things about Russians, about his businesses in Russia, they in turn hired this MI6 former investigator, he then came up with additional information from his Russian sources, he was very concerned by the implications of it, he then took it to an FBI colleague that he had known in his undercover work for years, he took it to this FBI man in Rome who turned it over to the bureau in Washington in August.

'And then, a former British ambassador to Russia independently was made aware of these findings and he took the information to John McCain – Senator John McCain of Arizona – in the period just after the election, and showed it to McCain – additional findings.

'McCain was sufficiently disturbed by what he read to take it to FBI director James Comey himself personally, they had a five minute meeting the two men, very little was said, McCain turned it over to him and is now awaiting what the FBI’s response is to that information.'