Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper wrote in his new book that the Russians did much more than meddle in the 2016 presidential election. They put President Trump in the White House.

“Of course the Russian effort affected the outcome,” Clapper wrote in his book, Facts and Fears: Hard Truths from a Life in Intelligence. “Surprising even themselves, they swung the election to a Trump win.”

“To conclude otherwise stretches logic, common sense, and credulity to the breaking point,” Clapper wrote.

“Less than 80,000 votes in three key states swung the election,” Clapper wrote.

The Hill reported MSNBC host Rachel Maddow read these excerpts from the book on her Tuesday show.

“I have no doubt that more votes than that were influenced by this massive effort by the Russians,” Clapper wrote.

In an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN on Wednesday, Clapper also spoke about the Russians and Trump’s election.

Clapper referenced his book’s claim about how many voters may have been influenced by the Russians and said that, since he is no longer the top intelligence chief, he knows more about the extent of the election meddling and its influence.

Clapper said:

Since I became a private citizen, knowing what I know of what the Russians did, the massive effort that they undertook and the variety of means that they used and the number of millions and millions of voters they got to, to me it stretches credulity as I said in the book and logic that to not think they didn’t help swing the election, given the fact it turns 80 — less than 80,000 votes in three states.

“So, that’s what I would call an informed opinion,” Clapper said. “I don’t have the empirical evidence to go with it.”

“But it is thinking about it and seeing and understanding better since I left the government that the full magnitude of what they did, in my mind and in my opinion, they did affect the election.”

“Clapper said he didn’t plan on writing a book but changed his mind because of Trump’s presidency,” the Hill reported.

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