Intelligence officials informed President Donald Trump two weeks before he took office that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed his spying operation to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, according to a new report.

The New York Times cited several people who attended a highly classified intelligence briefing Jan. 6, 2017 who confirmed Trump was told about Putin's involvement.

The briefing took place in Trump Tower, and it was referenced in former FBI Director James Comey's book because it was after that meeting Comey told Trump about the existence of the salacious Trump dossier.

The Times reported then-CIA Director John Brennan, then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and then-National Security Director Adm. Michael Rogers — who also served as commander of U.S. Cyber Command — presented evidence to Trump that Putin ordered Russia to shake up the election. That evidence included text messages and emails from officers in the Russian military and information gleaned from a human source who was close to Putin.

Publicly, Trump has not consistently acknowledged Russia meddled in the election. He has repeatedly said other countries might have been involved, and Monday, while standing next to Putin during a press conference at their joint summit in Helsinki, Trump again cast doubt on the claim and the investigation that is looking at whether his campaign colluded with Russia.

On Tuesday, however, Trump said he misspoke and acknowledged Russia — or perhaps someone else — meddled in the election. He doubled down on that in an interview with CBS News broadcast Wednesday.

Trump routinely calls the Russia probe a witch hunt and claims his campaign had no improper contact with the Russians.