Martin Luther King Jr.'s son says he had 'very constructive' meeting with Trump

 In this Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016 file photo, President-elect Donald Trump listens to a question as he speaks to reporters at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla.
In this Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016 file photo, President-elect Donald Trump listens to a question as he speaks to reporters at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla.

1:40 P.M. UPDATE:

The son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. says he had a "very constructive" meeting with President-elect Donald Trump on the holiday marking King's life.

Martin Luther King III played down Trump's recent claim that Rep. John Lewis, a civil-rights activist, was "all talk." He told reporters at Trump Tower on Monday that in the heat of emotion, "a lot of things get said on both sides."

King says the focus of his meeting with Trump was to improve voter participation and stress the need to bring America together. He says Trump assured him it's his intent to reach out to all Americans, even those who did not support him.

Trump briefly appeared with King after their nearly hour-long meeting but ignored reporters' questions.

Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

EARLIER: Trump questions CIA director as some Democrats vow to skip inauguration

NEW YORK — His inauguration days away, President-elect Donald Trump is continuing to lash out at critics in the intelligence community and Democrats in Congress who are vowing to skip his swearing-in ceremony.

The Republican questioned whether the CIA director himself was "the leaker of fake news" in a Sunday night tweet.

The criticism came hours after CIA chief John Brennan charged that Trump lacks a full understanding of the threat Moscow poses to the United States, delivering a public lecture to the president-elect that further highlighted the bitter state of Trump's relations with American intelligence agencies.

"Now that he's going to have an opportunity to do something for our national security as opposed to talking and tweeting, he's going to have tremendous responsibility to make sure that U.S. and national security interests are protected," Brennan said on Fox News Sunday, warning that the president-elect's impulsivity could be dangerous.

[TRUMP: Timeline of president-elect’s career + list of appointments so far]

Trump shot back in a Twitter post Sunday, saying: "Oh really, couldn't do much worse - just look at Syria (red line), Crimea, Ukraine and the build-up of Russian nukes. Not good! Was this the leaker of Fake News?"

The president-elect remained behind closed doors in his Manhattan high rise for the weekend as his team worked to answer questions about his plans at home and abroad once he's sworn into office on Friday.

Without providing details, Trump promised his plan to replace the nation's health care law would provide universal coverage, according to a Washington Post interview published late Sunday.

"We're going to have insurance for everybody," he said. "There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can't pay for it, you don't get it. That's not going to happen with us."

In a separate interview with the Times of London, Trump indicated that he could lift sanctions imposed on Russia for its military intervention in Ukraine in exchange for a nuclear arms deal. The suggestion met a frosty reception in Moscow.

Meanwhile, a growing number of Democrats in Congress have vowed to skip Trump's inauguration.

"We cannot normalize Donald Trump, and we certainly cannot turn our heads and ignore such a threat to the institutions and values of our democracy," Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York said Monday in a statement.

Trump's lieutenants pushed back hard, particularly against Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a civil-rights activist who said Russian interference in Trump's election delegitimizes his presidency.

"I think it's incredibly disappointing and I think it's irresponsible for people like himself to question the legitimacy of the next United States president," incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said of Lewis on ABC's This Week, insisting that Republicans did not question the legitimacy of President Barack Obama's victory eight years ago. Vice President-elect Mike Pence said on Fox News Sunday that he hopes Lewis will change his mind and attend.

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