Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats was live on stage at a security forum in Colorado last week, when he was told by a presenter the White House had just announced Mr Trump had invited Mr Putin to visit in the autumn.

“Say that again. Did I hear you?,” Mr Coats asked his interviewer, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell.

As Mr Coats looked surprised, Ms Mitchell repeated the information to him, and he responded: “Okay. That’s going to be special.”

Mr Coats’ reaction at the Aspen Security Forum last Thursday quickly went viral, and the White House was said to have been angered by it, coming as it did during a series of controversies and walk-backs over Mr Trump’s summit with Mr Putin in Helsinki last week.

The Washington Post said officials in the White House were in “uproar” over Mr Coats’s comments. “Coats has gone rogue,” said one senior White House official told the newspaper.

Over the weekend, Mr Coats, 75, a former Republican senator from Indiana, issued a statement saying he had meant no disrespect to Mr Trump.

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

Mr Coats had already been under scrutiny after unwittingly finding himself at the centre of controversy during Mr Trump visit to Finland and a press conference during which the US president appeared unwilling to challenge Mr Putin over Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election.

Asked whether he believed Russia had interfered, Mr Trump said: “All I can do is ask the question. My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me and some others, they said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin; he just said it’s not Russia.”

He added: “I will say this, I don’t see any reason why it would be.”

Mr Coats issued a statement the same day which said: “The role of the Intelligence community is to provide the best information and fact-based assessments possible for the president and policymakers.

Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests Show all 16 1 /16 Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests President Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki Reuters Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests An advert from Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat is on display in Helsinki Reuters Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests President Trump in a meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto AFP/Getty Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests President Trump meets with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in Helsinki EPA Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests President Trump talks with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in Mantyniemi, the official residence of the Finnish President EPA Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests US, Finnish and Russian flags fly in front of the Presidential Palace in Helsinki EPA Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests A protester wears a mask featuring a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin during the so-called "Helsinki against Trump and Putin" demonstration on July 16, 2018, in the Finnish capital Helsinki. The US and Russian leaders opened an historic summit in Helsinki on Monday, with Donald Trump promising an "extraordinary relationship" and Vladimir Putin saying it was high time to thrash out disputes around the world. / AFP PHOTO / Jonathan NACKSTRANDJONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images JONATHAN NACKSTRAND AFP/Getty Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests Vladimir Putin gifts a football to President Trump at the press conference that followed their meeting AP Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests Trump supporters hold banners during a demonstration in Helsinki AFP/Getty Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests People protest for women's reproductive rights in Helsinki's Senate Square Reuters Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests A crowd watches the motorcade transporting President Trump through Helsinki AFP/Getty Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests Russian President Putin drives through Helsinki on his way to meet with President Trump EPA Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests A man in the audience of the joint press conference holds up a sign sign that reads "NUCLEAR WEAPON BAN TREATY". REUTERS Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests A man is removed from the joint press conference in Helsinki. Security removed the man after he pulled out a sign that read "NUCLEAR WEAPON BAN TREATY". REUTERS Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests President Trump and Russia's President Putin sit for a working lunch in Finland's Presidential Palace AFP/Getty Trump in Helsinki: Putin meeting and protests President Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki Reuters

“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.”

As fury among Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill grew over what was widely seen as Mr Trump’s undermining of his own intelligence officials, he told reporters he had “misspoke” in Helsinki.

“In a key sentence in my remarks I said the word ‘would’ instead of ‘wouldn’t’,” he said. “The sentence should have been: ‘I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia’. Sort of a double negative.”

Embellishing his written notes, Mr Trump added: “I accept our intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election took place. It could be other people also. A lot of people out there.”

During his interview with NBC, Mr Coats said he was unaware of what transpired in the private meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin in Helsinki, and restated his belief Russia continued to pose a threat to the American electoral system.

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

The Associated Press said Mr Coats, who oversees the US’s seven intelligence agencies, also said that if he had been asked, he would have advised Mr Trump against meeting Mr Putin alone, with just interpreters.