Fact Check: Did Obama Director of Intelligence James Clapper Deny Collusion Between Trump and Russia?
The Republican National Committee and Trump supporters were out in full force this week touting this appearance by James Clapper on CNN, where he denied there was any evidence showing collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Watching the video, it is true that Clapper flatly denies he’s aware of evidence of collusion. He says, “I also have to say that with specific respect to the issue of collusion, as I’ve said before, I’ve testified to this effect, I saw no direct evidence of political collusion between the campaign, the Trump campaign and the Russians.”
However, it’s worth noting the broader context of Clapper’s remarks. After denying he’d seen evidence of collusion, Clapper added “That’s not to say there wasn’t any [collusion], I just didn’t see any evidence of it before I left [the Obama administration].”
Recently, former CIA director John Brennan walked a similar line on the issue of collusion in testifying before Congress. “I saw interaction that in my mind raised questions of whether it was collusion,” Brennan said. But Brennan also denied there’s evidence of collusion.
The question of collusion has taken on extra significance since a report that Trump asked two high-level intelligence officials to deny evidence of collusion on his behalf. Allegations of collusion are supposed to be definitively answered by the recently launched special counsel investigation by former FBI director Robert Mueller.
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