Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats (pictured) said in a statement that U.S. intelligence has been "clear in our assessments of Russian meddling. | Win McNamee/Getty Images Trump second-guessed DNI Coats on cybersecurity before sit-down with Putin

Even before his one-on-one with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump expressed skepticism of Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats' warnings about the cybersecurity threat from Russia.

Coats, speaking at the Hudson Institute last week, cautioned that U.S. digital infrastructure is "under attack." Russia, the intelligence director asserted, is the "worst offender" among foreign entities.


"I don't know if I agree with that," Trump said of the remarks in an interview with "CBS Evening News" anchor Jeff Glor that was taped Saturday in Scotland and released Monday. "I'd have to look."

The president hedged his doubts by asserting that he has "a lot of respect for Dan." Intelligence is "what he does," Trump said.

"Again, we're working on it very hard," the president continued in the interview, parts of which had already aired. "We're upgrading things at a very rapid pace."

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In a joint press conference Monday, Trump sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies on whether the Kremlin interfered in the 2016 election to boost his presidential campaign. He doesn't "see any reason" why Russia would hack Democratic Party servers, he said during the appearance with the Russian leader.

In response, Coats said in a statement that U.S. intelligence has been "clear in our assessments of Russian meddling." He asserted that agencies "will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security."

Trump sought to underscore his faith in U.S. intelligence while en route to Washington on Monday.

"As I said today and many times before, 'I have GREAT confidence in MY intelligence people,'" Trump tweeted. "However, I also recognize that in order to build a brighter future, we cannot exclusively focus on the past – as the world’s two largest nuclear powers, we must get along! #HELSINKI2018"

