The ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee slammed President Donald Trump on Thursday for again casting doubt on the assertion of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.
“The President’s comments today, again casting doubt on whether Russia was behind the blatant interference in our election and suggesting – his own intelligence agencies to the contrary – that nobody really knows, continue to directly undermine U.S. interests,” Schiff said in a statement. “This is not putting America first, but continuing to propagate his own personal fiction at the country’s expense.”
In a press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Trump said of the election meddling: “I think it was Russia. And I think it could have been other people and other countries. It could have been a lot of people interfered.”
He added: “I won’t be specific. But I think a lot of people interfere.”
Trump also blamed the Obama administration for not doing more to counter the interference at the time, and compared intelligence communities’ assessments to their assertions in the lead up to the Iraq War that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
“They were wrong, and it led to a mess,” he said.
The House Intelligence Committee, one of several bodies investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including potential collusion with Trump associates, is in the middle of interviewing several individuals close to Trump.
Read Schiff’s full statement below:
Los Angeles, CA – Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following statement:
“The President’s comments today, again casting doubt on whether Russia was behind the blatant interference in our election and suggesting – his own intelligence agencies to the contrary – that nobody really knows, continue to directly undermine U.S. interests. This is not putting America first, but continuing to propagate his own personal fiction at the country’s expense.
“President Trump must have the courage to raise the issue of Russian interference in our elections directly with President Putin, otherwise the Kremlin will conclude he is too weak to stand up to them. That would be a historic mistake, with damaging implications for our foreign policy for years to come.
“He should also confront Russia over its continued destabilization of Ukraine, and the illegal annexation and continued occupation of Crimea and parts of Georgia. He should make it clear that the U.S. is not going to make common cause with Russia in propping up Bashar al-Assad in Syria, nor turn a blind eye to any potential Russian support of the Taliban or increased trade with North Korea.”
