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Donald Trump's intelligence chief did not know Vladimir Putin was invited to the White House.
Dan Coats, director of national intelligence, was informed during a television interview that the White House had just announced Putin's invitation to Washington.
NBC's Andrea Mitchell, who moderated the event, shared the development with Mr. Coats, who seemed stunned
"Say it again", says Shocked Mr. Coats, pbading his hand over his ear.
He took a deep breath and continued, "Okay."
Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, Mr. Coats spoke of any potential conflict with President Trump, but has been frank about some of his doubts, saying he would have liked Mr. Trump to make different statements Helsinki after meeting with Vladimir Putin
Coats, who is in charge of overseeing the 17 The nation's intelligence agencies also said that if he had been asked, he would have advised Mr. Trump to meet Mr. Putin alone, with only translators.] "That's not my role. This is not my job. That's what it is, "said Mr. Coats
" I do not know what happened at this meeting. "
Mr. Coats said that he was just doing his job when he quickly issued a statement Monday after the President seemed to accredit Russia 's refusal to intervene in the elections.
In this statement, Mr. Coats reiterated the US intelligence badessment of Russian interference and Moscow's "ongoing and ubiquitous efforts to undermine our democracy."
At that time, what we had evaluated and rebadessed , and reevaluated … remains valid and that it was important to take a stand on behalf of the intelligence community and on behalf of the American people, "said Coats
., who criticized Russia during years, had to clash violently with Mr. Trump's pro-Kremlin remarks, leaving the espionage leader in a difficult position.
Asked how he treats Mr. Trump's contradictory statements about Russia, Mr Coats d it: "This is t"
The former Republican politician was banned from traveling to Russia in 2014 for calling for his annexation of Crimea.
He continued to sound the alarm over Russia since his appointment by Mr. Trump as he said he understood what Mr. Trump was saying when he noted earlier this week that "others May be to blame for attempting to meddle with the US elections because other opponents have the ability to do so. But he strongly opposed the badessment of intelligence, saying that it is "undeniable" that Russia has taken the lead in this kind of interference. "In reality, they are the ones trying to undermine our core values and divide with our allies," Mr. Coats said:
"They are the ones who are trying to sow chaos in our electoral process."
Like other Trump officials in Aspen, Mr. Coats was asked to never thought to resign from what had been a volatile Trump presidency
M. Coats did not answer the question directly. He said when he has frustrating days, he remembers why he accepted the job and what he hoped to accomplish.
"As long as I can have the ability to seek truth and tell the truth, I am on board," said Coats.
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