Intelligence chief Dan Coats counters Trump: 'We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling'

Show Caption Hide Caption Congress' reactions mixed to Trump, Putin Summit Key members of Congress are reacting to President Donald Trump's performance at a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (July 16)

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats underscored the intelligence community's assessment that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, countering his boss, President Donald Trump.

"The role of the Intelligence Community is to provide the best information and fact-based assessments possible for the President and policymakers," Coats said in a statement. "We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security."

Coats' statement came hours after Trump stood next to Vladimir Putin at a news conference in Helsinki and accepted the Russian president's denials of interference in the U.S. election.

"My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me, some others, they said they think it's Russia," Trump said at the news conference. "I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this, I don't see any reason why it would be."

Laterm Trump tweeted that while he has “GREAT confidence in MY intelligence people,” he wants to “get along” with Russia instead of focusing on the past.

That tweet came before the "CBS Evening News" broadcast an interview with Trump in which he cast doubt on Coats’ recent warning that the nation is susceptible to a large-scale cybersecurity attack.

“I don’t know if I agree with that. I’d have to look,” Trump told CBS anchor Jeff Glor. “But I have a lot of respect for Dan.”

Trump's remarks at the news conference brought swift condemnation from Democrats and Republicans alike. Some suggested Coats should step down to maintain his integrity.

Mike Murphy, a GOP consultant and Trump critic now at the Harvard Belfer Center, said he gave friends involved in national security a pass for joining the Trump administration.

But Trump crossed a line with his comments Monday, Murphy said, by "throwing the entire intelligence community under the bus."

"My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me, some others, they said they think it's Russia," Trump said as he stood next to Putin at a joint news conference between the two leaders following their talks in Helsinki. "I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this, I don't see any reason why it would be."

Richard Lugar, a former Republican senator from Indiana, said Coats should "just keep his head down and do his duty" because his experience is too valuable to lose.

"I think it’s important to the country that he stay where he is," Lugar said.

In 2014, Coats was banned from Russia for his efforts as a senator to punish the country because of Moscow’s move to annex the Crimea region of Ukraine.

Coats on Friday painted a stark picture of cyber security threats to the nation, comparing the warning signs to those that flashed red before 9/11 — and taking a much tougher stance towards Russia than Trump has.

“The system is blinking,” Coats said in remarks at the Hudson Institute. “I believe we’re at a critical point.”

Despite Kremlin denials, Coats said, people affiliated with the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency continue to create social media accounts to masquerade as Americans and sow division. Russian government actors have also targeted businesses, state and local governments, critical infrastructure and manufacturing sectors, he said.

“Russia has been the most aggressive foreign actor, no question,” Coats said. “They continue their efforts to undermine our democracy.”

Coats’ Friday comments came hours after the Justice Department indicted a dozen Russian military intelligence officers for attempting to undermine the 2016 election in part by hacking into the Democratic National Committee.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the head of the Foreign Relations Committee, expressed disbelief Monday that Trump did not back up U.S. intelligence agencies.

“When he had the opportunity to defend our intelligence agencies, who work for him, I was very disappointed and saddened with the equivalency he gave between them and what Putin was saying," Corker said.

Michael McFaul, the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, tweeted that Trump sided with Putin over Coats.

"How humiliating for Coats – broadcast to the world," McFaul tweeted.