Former CIA Chief John Brennan Blasts Senator John Kennedy as a 'Discredit to His Name' Over Ukraine Comments
Former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief John Brennan has hit out at Senator John Kennedy over the latter claiming that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election, commenting that Kennedy is "a great discredit to his name."
Brennan's comments came in an interview with MSNBC's Hardball on Monday, in which the ex-director of the CIA was asked about the Louisiana Republican's comments on NBC's Meet the Press.Kennedy claimed Sunday that former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was actively working with Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 to stop President Donald Trump being elected, despite this claim previously being debunked.
"Firstly, Senator John Kennedy is a great discredit to his name," Brennan said in response to Kennedy's comments. "Secondly he's not being duped, he knows he's being dishonest, he knows he's trying to defend and protect Donald Trump at all costs, and so he's not going to be honest with the American people."
"And so clearly he's continued to propagate this narrative that the Russians continue to feed and that's why he and others are allowing this narrative about Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election to go forward despite every indication from the intelligence community that it was Russia that engaged in systematic sweeping interference in the election that helped Donald Trump get elected," Brennan added.
It is the second week in a row that Kennedy has suggested Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election, despite claims of Ukrainian election interference being debunked by the intelligence community.
Kennedy's comments were also challenged at the time by Meet the Press host Chuck Todd, who told the senator that he was repeating an argument used by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"You now have the president of Ukraine saying he worked for the Democratic nominee for president. Come on, you realize the only other person selling this argument outside the United States is this man, Vladimir Putin," Todd told Kennedy during the interview after Kennedy said that he believed both Russia and Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election.
"Are you at all concerned that you've been duped?" Todd then proceeded to ask Kennedy.
Kennedy's comments also prompted a reaction from the president himself—praising his appearance on Meet the Press, which he dubbed "meet the depressed."
"Thank you to Great Republican @SenJohnKennedy for the job he did in representing both the Republican Party and myself against Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd on Meet the Depressed!" Trump tweeted following Kennedy's appearance on the show.
Kennedy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
