Former Defense, CIA Chief: Trump’s Call for Russian Espionage ‘Inconceivable’ and ‘Irresponsible’

Leon Panetta Calls Donald Trump ‘Unstable’ 

President Barack Obama’s former Secretary of Defense and former CIA Chief Wednesday night denounced Donald Trump’s comments earlier today calling for the Russians to hack Hillary Clinton’s email account. Leon Panetta called Trump’s remarks “inconceivable” and “irresponsible,” telling delegates that the Republican Party’s nominee for president offers “unstable leadership.”

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“Today, Donald Trump once again took Russia’s side,” said Panetta, the man who oversaw the operation that caught and killed Osama bin Laden. “He asked the Russians to interfere in American politics. Think about that for a moment. Donald Trump is asking one of our adversaries to engage in hacking or intelligence efforts against the United States to affect our election.”

“As someone who was responsible for protecting our nation from cyberattacks, it’s inconceivable to me that any presidential candidate would be this irresponsible. Donald Trump cannot become our Commander-in-Chief,” Panetta implored. 

“In an unstable world, we cannot afford unstable leadership. We cannot afford someone who believes America should withdraw from the world, threatens our international treaties, and violates our moral principles. We cannot afford an erratic finger on our nuclear weapons.”

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By contrast, Panetta added, “Hillary Clinton is the single most experienced and prepared person who has ever run for president.”

As Panetta was making the case against Trump, supporters of Bernie Sanders booed him.