As White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders attempted to subdue suspicions that President Trump’s decision to revoke the security clearance of a former CIA director was in the interest of national security and not an attack on his political critics, Trump has proven it was, in fact, a pounce on those who have lambasted him.

During a 20-minute impromptu interview with the Wall Street Journal Wednesday, Trump blamed former CIA Director John Brennan — and the nine other, notably Democratic, former officials whose security clearances he’s reviewing — for starting the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Brennan was one of the officials who informed Trump about Russian meddling just before his inauguration.

“I call it the rigged witch hunt, (it) is a sham,” he told the WSJ. “And these people led it! … So I think it’s something that had to be done.”

Trump also said he had planned to announce his decision to revoke Brennan’s clearance last week, but things were “hectic” and said he would revoke a Republican’s clearance as well “if I thought they were incompetent or crazy.”

Read the full WSJ stories here and here.