Citing 'Fox & Friends,' Trump attacks ex-CIA head John Brennan after biting op-ed

Ryan W. Miller | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Brennan warned Russia against election meddling Former CIA director says he warned Russia against meddling in the presidential election in August. (May 23)

After former CIA director John Brennan penned a scathing op-ed in The Washington Post attacking President Trump, the commander-in-chief fired back on Twitter Saturday, citing one of his favorite cable news shows, Fox & Friends.

"John Brennan, no single figure in American history has done more to discredit the intelligence community than this liar," Trump tweeted quoting conservative commentator Dan Bongino who appeared on the TV show early Saturday. "Not only is he a liar, he’s a liar about being a liar."

Bongino went after Brennan, saying the former CIA official lied about his knowledge of a dossier that contained salacious and unsubstantiated allegations that Trump met with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room.

The Trump-approved criticism comes a day after Brennan bashed Trump's "lifelong pre-occupation with aggrandizing himself."

“John Brennan, no single figure in American history has done more to discredit the intelligence community than this liar. Not only is he a liar, he’s a liar about being a liar.” Dan Bongino on @foxandfriends — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2, 2018

In the op-ed — with the headline, "I will speak out until integrity returns to the White House" — Brennan writes, "The esteem with which I held the presidency was dealt a serious blow when Donald Trump took office."

Brennan explains how he had worked closely with former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and that while he didn't always agree with their policy, he "never doubted that each treated their solemn responsibility to lead our nation with anything less than the seriousness, intellectual rigor and principles that it deserved."

That changed with Trump for Brennan.

"Mr. Trump, however, has shown highly abnormal behavior by lying routinely to the American people without compunction, intentionally fueling divisions in our country and actively working to degrade the imperfect but critical institutions that serve us."

Brennan's criticism of Trump is nothing new, the former intelligence official notes, and he's been slammed in the past for going after the president.

In March, Brennan tweeted "America will triumph over you" while retweeting a Trump post that called ex-FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe's firing "a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI." He also called Trump a "deeply flawed person" after the president used a vulgar term to refer to people from Haiti and other foreign nations.

Brennan served as CIA director and Homeland Security adviser under Obama.

In the Washington Post op-ed, Brennan concludes: "As someone who had the rare privilege of directly serving four presidents, I will continue to speak out loudly and critically until integrity, decency, wisdom — and maybe even some humility — return to the White House."

Follow Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller