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Seeking to appease growing criticism after the Helsinki summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Trump said on Tuesday that he accepted the conclusion of the US intelligence community that Russia was seeking to influencing the 2016 elections.
Other actors may have been involved, a conclusion that is not supported by the findings of US intelligence agencies.
"I accept the conclusion of our intelligence community that Russia's interference in the 2016 elections has taken place. Could be other people too. "Trump said, mostly reading a piece of paper, before a meeting with Republican members of Congress at the White House."
"There was no collusion at all," he added, rejecting the notion that his campaign coordinated with Moscow in 2016.
Trump also said that he was "deadly." 39; is poorly expressed at the joint press conference with Putin on Monday and that he meant that there was no reason to doubt Russia interfered in the elections.
"The sentence should have been:" I see no reason why it would not be Russia. "A kind of double negative," Trump told reporters. "So you can put that, and I think that probably clarifies things pretty well by itself."
Trump Tuesday did not address, however, his assertion at the Monday news conference that "I trust both parties" to a question of whether he believed the denial Putin or the conclusion of the intelligence committee on the interference of Russia in the election.
Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.) immediately seized Trump's comments, saying that the president "was trying far away from what he said yesterday."
"He's twenty-four hours too late, and in the wrong place, "Schumer said in a tweet .
Trump's remarks followed a morning tweet in which he accused the media of negative coverage of Monday's press conference and said his meeting with Putin was "even better" than a meeting with NATO allies the week before. Trump wrote, referring to his efforts to increase defense spending by US allies. "Unfortunately, it's not reported that way – the fake news goes crazy!"
During a remarkable 46-minute joint press conference at the end of Monday's summit in Helsinki, Trump will not dispute Putin's claim that his government has not played any role in the attempt to sabotage the US elections in 2016, despite the indictment on Friday of 12 Russian intelligence officers, following the announcement. Special Advisor Robert S. Mueller III. electoral interference
Trump's performance provoked a wave of condemnation, including from many members of his own party. On Tuesday, a growing number of Republicans called for swift action to embrace the findings of the US intelligence community on Russian interference and limit the damage to Helsinki.
Speaking with reporters outside the Senate, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Did not mention Trump by his name, but sought to reassure allies in Europe that the United States stood with them and warned that Russian interference would not happen again.
"We believe that the European countries are our friends and the Russians are not – they have demonstrated this in all the obvious ways in recent years with the annexation of the Crimea, the invasion of East of Ukraine, not to mention the indisputable proof that they have tried to have an impact on the 2016 elections ". On Trump's remarks in Helsinki, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) Also refused to criticize the president on Tuesday, focusing his response on Russia and Putin
"Permit me to be very clear ". a press conference. "We support our allies from NATO and all those countries facing Russian aggression."
The speaker, who issued a statement Monday supporting the findings of the US intelligence community, reiterated that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
Ryan, however, declined to say he was in agreement with the Republicans who called Trump to clarify his comments.
In a sign of the White House's attempts to contain the damage of Helsinki US Ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman Jr., informed Tuesday the NATO Ambassadors in Brussels of the Trump-Putin meeting. NATO diplomats – freshly brushed by Trump last week on their late defense spending – said they appreciated the gesture.
A senior NATO diplomat said that Huntsman did not provide new details on the Trump-Putin deal. the two leaders themselves. But ambassadors felt it was a conciliatory gesture after Trump's harsh words last week, the diplomat said. "They see NATO as an important player," the diplomat said on condition of anonymity to discuss NATO's internal talks.
In morning television shows and social media, several Trump supporters urged Trump to explain to the nation why he seemed to be side with Putin instead of the American intelligence community that concluded that Russia was responsible. Said the former White House communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, during an appearance on CNN. "The optics of this situation is a disaster … if it does not back down, it will eventually lose people who want to support it."
[‘Very much counter to the plan’: Trump defies advisers in embrace of Putin]
Scaramucci, who always says he is faithful to Trump, recommended that the president snuggle against "his most intelligent and loyal helpers" Trump could do it while continuing to insist that there was no collusion between the Russians and his campaign, said Scaramucci.
Democrats, meanwhile, sought
In a speech to the Senate, Schumer called on the Republican House leaders to schedule hearings on what happened in Helsinki
"Our Republican Colleagues can not just tsk-tsk, "said Schumer." They need to act. "
Schumer says that he was particularly concerned about what Trump could have said to Putin when he was in the mood. a closed meeting of two hours between the two, where only their interpreters were present
The Americans deserve to know what happened Our security is threatened, "said Schumer
In a letter to Colleagues, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), highlighted several steps the party has taken to focus attention on Trump's meeting with Putin, with President Trump huddled in front of him. President Putin and has delivered a dangerous, harmful and shameful exposure of his "Blame America First" policy, she wrote. "His total weakness in the presence of Putin proves that the Russians have something on the president, personally, financially or politically."
Pelosi said Democrats would present a resolution based on Ryan's statement on Monday.
The Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, sought to take advantage of the episode by sending a fundraising solicitation requesting donations to help elect the Democrats "who will hold this president recklessly responsible." [19659037] Around 9:00 am Tuesday, Trump tweeted on the summit for the first time since returning to Washington the night before. He thanked Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), One of the few prominent Republicans who defended his performance at Monday's press conference.
Earlier in the morning, Paul defended Trump on CBS, saying that he was centering a "partisan investigation" on Russia and is "sensitive to that."
Other Republicans did not forgive.
"It was a very bad day for the president", Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill) said Tuesday morning on CNN. "I think President Trump has been wrong yesterday in an important way, and I think it was a very embarrassing press conference."
Kinzinger said that Trump needed to talk to the nation about what happened. "You have to go out today and clarify that," he said.
Kinzinger's plea echoes former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, a Republican who defends Trump in general
our intelligence system and Putin, "tweeted Gingrich Monday." C & # 39; is the most serious mistake of his presidency and must be corrected – immediately. "
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), whom Trump recently approved for reelection, was questioned Tuesday at the 39, an appearance on Fox & Friends "Fox & Friends" he thought Trump should clarify his comments at the press conference.
The President may have shed some light on the progress made at the closed session, "said Gaetz, referring to Monday's meeting between Trump and Putin.
In a tweet earlier on Tuesday, Trump has NATO allies at last week's summit in Brussels to reach their defense spending targets – a move he has described as "bad for Russia".
At a press conference after the NATO summit last week, the president claimed that the members of the alliance had agreed to "substantially increase their commitment. . . However, other NATO leaders have challenged Trump's claims, saying that they simply agreed to abide by previous commitments.
While Trump called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's rally of positive, several American allies were offended by his abrupt manner. At the beginning of the summit, Trump asserted that a gas pipeline agreement had left Germany "totally controlled" and "captivated to Russia" as it raised new charges on "defensive" defense spending "of his allies.
Michael Birnbaum in Brussels contributed to this report.
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