Story highlights "This is not a joke. This is very serious business that relates to the security of this country," Panetta says

Trump can't just "do or say or speak whatever the hell he wants," former CIA director says

Washington (CNN) Veteran national security official Leon Panetta rebuked the Trump administration following reports that the President had shared highly classified information with Russian officials.

"This is not a joke. This is very serious business that relates to the security of this country," Panetta told "New Day" co-host Chris Cuomo Tuesday morning. "I watch this President rationalize these kinds of things. And the problem that really bothers me is that it undermines the credibility of the office of the presidency."

Panetta -- whose government service includes terms as secretary of defense, director of the CIA and White House chief of staff -- slammed Trump and his aides for the explosive disclosure, condemning it in both national security and political terms.

"The American people need to understand that you don't just get intelligence out of thin air. You get intelligence because we deploy spies, because we deploy people who are willing to put their lives on the line, and because we work with other intelligence agencies around the world that help provide that kind of information. But it is done on the basis of competence and trust," he explained.

Rebutting Trump's claim made in a series of early morning tweets Tuesday that he has "the absolute right" to declassify information, Panetta was unmoved.

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