After days of hysterical accusations against Russia over the downing of flight MH17, and days of promising super secret evidence existed to vindicate those claims, the administration made the decision to allow intelligence officials to release a public assessment to reporters today.

They’re probably rethinking tonight, after the intelligence community conceded, in front of a room of reporter, that there is “no evidence” whatsoever linking Russia to the downing of MH17.

While officials say that the MH17 was still probably downed by a 9k37 Buk missile, they say there is no direct evidence Russia sent the missile to the rebels, let alone fired it for them, two things that have been pushing in the rush to blame Russia for the incident.

Rather, the sum total of Russia’s involvement that the intelligence community thinks they can push is that Russia “created the conditions” for the war in Ukraine, which is where the plane was shot down. Hardly a smoking gun.

Despite that, President Obama continues to insist that “no one denies” the MH17 was shot down with a Russian missile, and training them to use it, two things the intelligence community had nothing to back up.