White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Thursday defended his claim that President-elect Trump knew about Russia’s effort to hack into Democratic emails during the campaign, after a senior Trump transition official accused Earnest of making irresponsible statements.

Earnest told reporters on Wednesday that Trump was “obviously aware” of Russia’s meddling in the election but feigned ignorance in order to boost his campaign, a comment Kellyanne Conway called “remarkable” during a Thursday morning appearance on MSNBC.