Clapper: 'The Place to Look for Truth Isn't the White House'

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper Thursday questioned whether the truth can be heard from the White House, after President Donald Trump cast blame through Twitter on former President Barack Obama's administration for not getting three hostages released from a North Korean labor camp.

"The last administration was pretty determined about trying to get Americans who were imprisoned in North Korea, one of the high points of my time was bringing out two Americans who had been imprisoned and in hard labor in 2014," Clapper, now a CNN national security analyst, told "New Day" co-host Alisyn Camerota. "The place tolook for truth isn't the White House."

Camerata noted two of the hostages were taken after Trump took office, and Clapper said he does think it is a precondition the three prisoners be released before the United States negotiates with North Korea.

"I think this is, if it happens, it is a very positive development," Clapper said. "You're right about the fact checking."

However, he said Trump appears to try to pin anything he can on Obama, and find fault with him, "even if it is stretching the truth, which is the case here, there is a body of evidence, this is a consistent thing he does. It's regrettable."

Event when something good is happening, Clapper said, "somehow we have to find a way to cast aspersions on the prior administration. I don't know why he does it this long into his administration. But it just seems to be he can't resist."

He referred to such things as being "Orwellian, where the minister of information is 'up is down, black is white, war is peace,' etcetera. It is very disconcerting."

Clapper said he would like to believe Trump, "but at least for me, almost automatically you would want to do the fact checking. Facts are important."

However, "what distresses me is this is becoming normalized here in this country where people just accept the fact that the place to look for truth isn't the White House."

Clapper said he also finds it ironic the White House is invoking his name while pushing Gina Haspel's nomination for CIA director, considering how the administration has called both him and former CIA Director John Brennan liars at various times.

"It is ironic they would cite both me and John Brennan, who both of us are supporters of Gina, that they would point to us as an endorsement for their nominee," he said. "We do support Gina."

He said he is interested in hearing Haspel's answer about whether she would comply with an order to reinstate extreme interrogation methods, and said she needs to be prepared for that question.

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