Leon Panetta Warns President Trump: Stop Angering America's Closest Allies or Risk Crippling the Country
Hours before FBI Director James Comey's testimony to the House Intelligence Committee, former CIA Director Leon Panetta weighed in on the status of President Trump's wiretapping claim with "Morning Joe."
Panetta "can fix anything, but it's getting bad," host Joe Scarborough concluded.
"Where do we stand right now with President Trump's accusation about the wiretapping?" co-host Mika Brzezinski then asked. "Is there any shadow of a doubt, is there any possibility, any way, Obama could have tapped Trump Tower in any way?"
Panetta, now co-chair of the bipartisan policy center's task force on defense personnel, found no evidence to support President Trump's baseless wiretapping accusation made over two weeks ago.
"And I would not be surprised if Director Comey today basically says as much," Panetta told "Morning Joe."
"I think the president, frankly, ought to acknowledge that a mistake was made, apologize to President Obama and move on," he advised.
For Panetta, Trump's distractions are in no way benign.
"He's got too many other issues to deal with," he told the team. Then, noting Trump's recent feuds with Australia, Germany and Britain, Panetta issued a scathing warning.
“We're dealing with a world in which there are a lot of flash points and a lot of threats," Panetta pointed out. "The only way we are going to deal with the threats that confront us around the world is through our alliances with our friends, whether it’s NATO, whether it’s Britain, whether it’s Australia, whether it’s other countries that are important to our ability to confront these national security issues."
"And the more the president angers our closest allies, the more he weakens our ability to deal with the threats that we're facing in the world," he added. "It’s that simple.”
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