Dan Coats says he did not intend to be critical of decision to invite Putin to Washington

The most senior intelligence official in the US has said he meant no disrespect to Donald Trump in a televised interview discussing the recent summit with Vladimir Putin.

Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, said on Saturday his comments at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado were not intended to be critical of the president’s decision to invite the Russian leader to a meeting in Washington later this year.

“Some press coverage has mischaracterised my intentions in responding to breaking news presented to me during a live interview,” Coats said. “My admittedly awkward response was in no way meant to be disrespectful or criticise the actions of the president.”

Coats has been under scrutiny since he said he wished Trump had not met one-on-one with the Russian leader and expressed dismay that the president had publicly undermined US intelligence agencies. He issued a rare statement rebutting the president’s comments which cast doubt on the findings of the intelligence community on Russian election interference.

White House aides were fearful Coats might resign, and Trump spoke positively of him in a TV interview on Wednesday. But Coats’ display of surprise upon learning that Trump had invited Putin to Washington in the autumn for a followup meeting drew the president’s ire.

“Say that again,” Coats said, cupping his hand over his ear on live TV. He took a deep breath and continued: “OK. That’s going to be special.”

Coats revealed in the interview with NBC’s Andrea Mitchell that he was unaware of what transpired in the private meeting between Trump and Putin in Helsinki, and restated without equivocation his belief that Russia continues to pose a threat to the US electoral system.

“Basically, they are the ones that are trying to undermine our basic values and divide with our allies,” Coats said of Russia. “They are the ones who are trying to wreak havoc over our election process.”

Coats, who oversees the US’s 17 intelligence agencies, said that if he had been asked he would have advised Trump against meeting Putin with only interpreters present.

“That’s not my role. That’s not my job. It is what it is,” Coats said.

The statement from Coats on Saturday, more than 48 hours after the initial interview, capped a week of public backflips by the Trump administration relating to Russia.

Trump’s public doubting of Russia’s culpability for interference in 2016 prompted bipartisan condemnation in Washington and led congressional lawmakers to look once again for ways to tighten sanctions on Moscow.

Coats, a former Republican senator from Indiana, had until this week been a largely invisible figure in Trump’s cabinet. Earlier in the administration, his voice was drowned out by the more outspoken Mike Pompeo, who was CIA director before Trump made him secretary of state. With Pompeo heading the state department, Coats has been thrust into the limelight as the voice of the intelligence community.