President Donald Trump fired off two enraged tweets at The New York Times on Saturday evening, accusing the newspaper of committing a "virtual act of Treason" for publishing a story that said the United States is ramping up cyberattacks against Russia.
"Do you believe that the Failing New York Times just did a story stating that the United States is substantially increasing Cyber Attacks on Russia," Trump tweeted. "This is a virtual act of Treason by a once great paper so desperate for a story, any story, even if bad for our Country…"
He continued: "…..ALSO, NOT TRUE! Anything goes without Corrupt News Media today. They will do, or say, whatever it takes, with not even the slightest thought of consequence! These are true cowards and without doubt, THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!"
The Times' story reported that the Trump administration deployed new cybertools targeting Russia's electric power grid, citing unnamed current and former government officials.
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The Times reported that the cyberattacks were meant to serve as a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The story added that officials on the National Security Council said they had no national security concerns about The Times' report, "perhaps an indication that some of the intrusions were intended to be noticed by the Russians."
The Times also cited two administration officials who said they believed Trump himself had not been briefed on details of some of the attacks on the Russian grid, concerned about his reaction and whether he might cancel the efforts or discuss it with foreign officials.
Saturday was not the first time Trump accused The Times of treason. He also used the term in September 2018 after the newspaper published an op-ed written by an unnamed Trump official who said they were part of a "resistance" within the administration.
"Number one, The Times should never have done that, because what they've done is, virtually, you know, it's treason. You could call it a lot of things," Trump told "Fox & Friends."
