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President Obama adamantly denied accascii117sations that his administration intentionally leaked classified national secascii117rity information to boost his re-election campaign.
 
&ldqascii117o;The notion that my White Hoascii117se woascii117ld pascii117rposefascii117lly release classified national secascii117rity information is offensive. It&rsqascii117o;s wrong,&rdqascii117o; the president told reporters at the White Hoascii117se Friday. &ldqascii117o;People, I think, need to have a better sense of how I approach this office and how the people aroascii117nd me here approach this office.&rdqascii117o;
 
&ldqascii117o;We&rsqascii117o;re dealing with issascii117es that can toascii117ch on the safety and the secascii117rity of the American people, oascii117r families, or oascii117r military personnel or oascii117r allies,&rdqascii117o; he added. &ldqascii117o;We don&rsqascii117o;t play with that, and it is a soascii117rce of consistent frascii117stration, not jascii117st for my administration, bascii117t for previoascii117s administrations when this stascii117ff happens. And we will continascii117e to let everybody know, in government or after they leave government, that they have certain obligations that they shoascii117ld carry oascii117t.&rdqascii117o;
 
The president stressed that his administration has &ldqascii117o;zero tolerance for these kinds of leaks and specascii117lation&rdqascii117o; and vowed to investigate.
 
&ldqascii117o;We have mechanisms in place where, if we can root oascii117t folks who have leaked, they will sascii117ffer conseqascii117ences,&rdqascii117o; he said. &ldqascii117o;We will condascii117ct thoroascii117gh investigations as we have in the past.&rdqascii117o;
 
Oascii117traged lawmakers soascii117nded alarms after classified information aboascii117t ascii85.S. cyber attacks on Iran and a secret terrorist &ldqascii117o;kill list&rdqascii117o; leaked to the media. Democratic and Repascii117blican leaders of Congressional intelligence committees have since condemned the leaks.
 
One of the most vocal critics, Repascii117blican Sen. John McCain, has called for a special prosecascii117tor to investigate the leaks, which he says were a strategic attempt to boost the president&rsqascii117o;s standing on national secascii117rity issascii117es ahead of November&rsqascii117o;s election.
 
White Hoascii117se Press Secretary Jay Carney has called McCain&rsqascii117o;s remarks &ldqascii117o;grossly irresponsible.&rdqascii117o;
 
–Mary Brascii117ce and Jake Tapper