Trump blasts media for publication of ‘dossier’

NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump both praised and hectored the news media Wednesday in his first press conference since winning the White House. The timing could not have been more dramatic, as Trump used the occasion to denounce “fake news.”

Trump had scheduled a December press conference — his first since July — at which the billionaire had promised to disclose how he would address potential conflicts of interest between his public duties and his international empire of skyscrapers, golf courses and resorts. Trump postponed the session until Wednesday.

Tuesday, on the eve of the much-awaited press conference, the website BuzzFeed News posted a 35-page “dossier” that included the allegation that “the Russian regime has been cultivating, supporting, and assisting Trump for at least five years.” The document also suggested that Trump was vulnerable to blackmail.

The press conference began with transition team spokesman Sean Spicer dismissing the story as “flat-out false information” that should not have been posted on the Internet days before the Republican victor takes the oath of office. Spicer described BuzzFeed’s decision to air the allegations — and CNN’s decision to break the story without airing uncorroborated claims — as “a sad and pathetic attempt to get clicks.”

BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith wrote to his staff that the decision to run the dossier was “not an easy or a simple call,” even as he recognized that BuzzFeed reporters unsuccessfully had tried to verify allegations in the document, ostensibly written by a former British intelligence official, and that it contained apparent errors.

New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet, the paper reported, announced The Times would not run with the story because it was “totally unsubstantiated.”

After Spicer unloaded on BuzzFeed and CNN, Vice President-elect Mike Pence reminded the press of his longtime support of freedom of the press. “With freedom comes responsibility,” Pence added. Then Trump strolled to the microphone to address a room packed with reporters shouting his name with their hands raised.

“I want to thank a lot of the news organizations that are here today,” Trump told the room. Trump even thanked The New York Times by name, and in general news outlets that “have not treated me well over the years. … They’ve just gone up a notch as to what I think of them.”

Before Trump appeared, aides loaded stacks of packets near the podium. Later, Trump interrupted his remarks to introduce beltway tax attorney Sheri A. Dillon. Dillon said she planned to put all Trump organization assets — including the resorts, Mar-a-Lago and the very Trump Tower where the presser was held — into a trust, which Trump’s sons Donald Jr. and Eric will manage.

Washington University law professor Kathleen Clark told MSNBC she considered the plan “a showmanship exercise” that was little more than “going through the motions.” She believes Trump should divest his assets rather than turn them over to his sons.

In answer to critics who argue that it is a violation of the Constitution’s “emoluments” clause when foreign dignitaries pay to stay at Trump’s high-priced hotels, Dillon said Trump would donate all hotel payments from foreign governments to the U.S. Treasury. “This way,” Dillon explained, “it is the American people who will profit.”

Common Cause Vice President Paul S. Ryan viewed that plan “as no more than window dressing. Common Cause’s concerns about emoluments extend far more than the Trump hotels and guests who might stay there.” As Trump himself noted, the Trump Organization has enterprises around the world, Ryan pointed out. Without transparency, Ryan warned, the public has no way of knowing what international conflicts exist.

Ryan is especially concerned with the lack of information on Trump Organization debt.

Trump announced his nomination of Dr. David J. Shulkin, the current undersecretary for health at the Department of Veterans Affairs, as secretary of Veterans Affairs. Trump said he had interviewed 100 people — “some good, some not so good.” The Shulkin announcement leaves one vacancy, secretary of agriculture, in the Trump Cabinet.

Most of the president-elect’s energy was focused on the BuzzFeed story. Trump also noted that the dossier placed his adviser Michael Cohen at a meeting with Russian officials in Prague in August. Cohen asserts he never has been to Prague. Trump believes a different Michael Cohen was in Prague in August.

Trump did admit that Russia was behind hacks of the Democratic National Committee, which he faulted for failing to use smart security measures. Trump also argued that better relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin are an “asset” for America.

Trump told reporters the dossier was put together by “sick people” for his political opponents. As for a compromising sexual practice reported in the dossier, Trump had a unique defense: “I’m also pretty much a germophobe by the way.”

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or at 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.