President Trump said Monday he has yet to see any compelling reason why Russia would have interfered in the 2016 election, contradicting his own intelligence chief who warned over the weekend that Moscow has become the “most aggressive” perpetrator of cybercrime globally.
Trump’s stunning admission came during a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who repeatedly denied any involvement in malicious cyberactivity that occurred both in the 2016 presidential election and previous elections. Senior U.S. intelligence officials and congressional investigators have issued multiple reports concluding that Russia’s fingerprints were all over attempts to manipulate social media in 2016 and the hacking of email accounts belonging to Democratic party officials.
When asked during a press conference with Putin about Russia’s alleged election meddling, Trump said his Russian counterpart “was extremely strong and powerful in his denial” of election meddling during their private meeting Monday. He added that he saw no reason why Moscow would seek to interfere in America’s electoral process, and suggested a hacked Microsoft Exchange server belonging to the Democratic National Committee would substantiate his own conclusion.
“So let me just say that we have two thoughts. You have groups that are wondering why the FBI never took the server, why haven’t they taken the server. Why was the FBI told to leave the office of the Democratic National Committee. I’ve been wondering that. I’ve been asking that for months and months and I’ve been tweeting it out and calling it out on social media. Where is the server?” Trump said.
He continued, “I don’t see any reason why it would be [Russia], but I really do want to see the server. I really believe that this will go on for awhile and I don’t think it can go on without finding out what happened to the server.”
[Related: Nancy Pelosi: Trump was ‘afraid’ to mention Russian indictments to Putin]
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats was one of several officials who warned him of Moscow’s involvement.
Coats ratcheted up that warning in a speech in Washington on Friday, just 48 hours before Trump was set to hold his first bilateral summit with Putin in Helsinki and the same day special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers on charges related to election meddling.
“Today, the digital infrastructure that serves this country is literally under attack,” Coats said. “What’s serious about the Russians is their intent. They have capabilities, but it’s there intent to undermine our basic values, undermine democracy, create wedges between us and our allies.”
In a separate response to questions about Russian election meddling, Trump said the ongoing special counsel investigation into election interference was severely damaging U.S. relations with Moscow.
“It’s kept us separated. There was no collusion at all. Everybody knows it,” he said, adding that Mueller and his team of investigators would have to “try really hard to find something” that would indicate he or his campaign associates colluded with the Kremlin.
Putin said he told Trump several times during their one-on-one meeting that Russia did not carry out a cyberoffensive against the U.S. during the 2016 election.
“President Trump mentioned [the] issue of so-called Russian interference with the American elections. I had to reiterate things I said several times, including during our personal contacts, that the Russian state has never interfered and is not going to interfere in internal American affairs, including election process,” he said.
The comments by Trump during Monday’s press conference drew the ire of several lawmakers and former intelligence officials who have long encouraged the president to further hold Russia accountable for its cyberattacks.
“I never thought I would see the day when our American President would stand on the stage with the Russian President and place blame on the United States for Russian aggression,” Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., wrote in a tweet.
He added: “This is shameful.”
Former CIA Director John Brennan called the hour-long episode in Helsinki “nothing short of treasonous.”
“Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to [and] exceeds the threshold of ‘high crimes [and] misdemeanors,’” Brennan tweeted. “Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican patriots: Where are you???”
