Dan Coats said he had a “good relationship” with Donald Trump, but Coats' comments were nonetheless part of a series of contradictions between the nation's top spy and the president over Russian meddling. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo ‘I was just doing my job,’ Coats says, defending Russian election meddling findings ASPEN, Colo.—Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats explained on Thursday he felt obligated to “correct the record” when he issued a statement backing up U.S. intelligence findings that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election. “I was just doing my job,” Coats said at the Aspen Security Forum. Coats issued the statement following President Donald Trump’s joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, where Trump appeared to take Putin’s word that Russia wasn’t involved in election meddling. “I just felt that at this point in time that what we had assessed and reassessed and reassessed and carefully gone over still stands and that it was important to take that stand on behalf of the Intelligence Community and on behalf of the American people,” Coats said. Coats said he had a “good relationship” with Trump, but Coats' comments Monday were nonetheless part of a series of contradictions between the nation's top spy and the president over Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and whether the Kremlin is still attempting to undermine the U.S. electoral process. “Obviously, I wished he had made a different statement, but I think that now that has been clarified,” Coats said, referring to Trump in Helsinki. “I don’t think I want to go any further than that,” Coats added. Morning Cybersecurity A daily briefing on politics and cybersecurity — weekday mornings, in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or updates from POLITICO and you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service. You can unsubscribe at any time and you can contact us here. This sign-up form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Trump appeared to undercut recent statements by Coats on Wednesday when he said the Russian government is no longer trying to interfere in the U.S. political process. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later attempted to walk back the statement, saying that Trump simply said "no" to answering additional questions from reporters and that he hadn't said Russia wasn’t attempting to undermine U.S. elections. Top U.S. intelligence agencies have unanimously concluded that Russia interfered in the U.S. elections to aid Trump and damage his Democratic opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The president appears to have finally endorsed the findings that Russia meddled in the 2016 election. But that acceptance came after considerable back-and-forth, including Trump's willingness to accept Russian President Vladimir Putin's denial that the Kremlin had meddled in the election. After being widely panned for taking Putin's side over the U.S. intelligence community during a joint press conference in Helsinki, Trump later chalked that up to an incorrect word choice. Following Trump's public siding with Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies, Coats, a former Republican senator from Indiana, issued a statement Monday backing the findings, underscoring the mission of the Intelligence Community “to provide the best information and fact-based assessments possible for the president.” "We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security," Coats said in the statement. In Aspen, other high profile members of the Trump administration have also reaffirmed the findings on Russian meddling. FBI Director Chris Wray said Wednesday that he still agrees with the assessment and that Russia continues to "sow divisiveness" in the U.S. political system. And Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said on Thursday that "Russia was absolutely attempting to interfere in our election systems," but largely avoided discussing whether Trump benefited from Russian actions. Pressed further on the Helsinki summit, Coats said he would have recommended against Trump meeting one-on-one with Putin and didn't know what happened during the hours-long Trump-Putin meeting, with only translators present. "As time goes by — the president has already mentioned some things that happened in that meeting — I think we will learn more. But that is the president's prerogative," Coats said. "If he had asked me how that ought to be conducted, I would have suggested a different way. But that's not my role. That's not my job." Asked about another controversial Oval Office meeting in May 2017 between Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak, Coats said he had no advance notice. While he said he didn't believe there "was any nefarious attempt" behind the meeting, Coats called it "probably not the best thing to do." "I was not aware of that. I'm not aware of anything like that since," he said. "You have to understand you have a president who did not come through the system, came from the outside." Pressed by moderator Andrea Mitchell of NBC News on criticism of the intelligence community, including from Trump, Coats largely brushed off questions of whether he has considered resigning. “That’s a place I don’t really go to publicly,” he said “I’ve tried to retire twice. … I failed both times,” Coats said, referencing the two stints he served in the Senate. As Coats concluded his interview, he was informed by Mitchell that Putin was being invited to Washington this fall. And Coats, responded, “Say that again.” “That’s gonna be special,” Coats remarked, drawing laughter from the audience. Louis Nelson contributed to this report.<doc-sep>(CNN) — Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats spent over a decade in the House and Senate and served as ambassador to Germany during the George W. Bush administration before reluctantly answering his friend Vice President-elect Mike Pence’s pleas to join the Trump administration. It is a decision portrayed almost as a personal favor to a friend – and one that he may now be regretting. katebrower.com Kate Brower On Monday, President Trump issued a stunning rebuke to the US national intelligence community, and DNI Coats directly, when he was asked about the government assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. At a press conference after their two-hour-long meeting in Helsinki, Finland, Trump, standing next to Vladimir Putin, said he did not “see any reason why” Russia would be responsible for the election meddling. “My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me and some others, they said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin; he just said it’s not Russia.” It was a shocking statement coming from an American president standing next to a major adversary. Trump essentially sided with Putin, who has a long history of human rights abuses, over his own intelligence officers. Fellow Republicans, including Sen. John McCain and Mitt Romney, were quick to condemn it. McCain called Monday’s press conference “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president.” In a remarkable response, Coats sent a statement not long after, standing by his findings. “We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security.” The statement reasserting the intelligence community’s assessment was unprecedented because it was not cleared through official White House channels and reveals a widening chasm between Trump and his intelligence chief. Coats has long been a critic of Putin and, when he was a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he was banned from Russia when he called for stronger sanctions after Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Undeterred from holding Russia to account, Coats said days ago that “the warning lights are blinking red again” regarding Russian cyber interference. When I interviewed Coats last December to talk about the relationship between Vice President Mike Pence, a friend of his from Indiana, and Trump, I was surprised to discover how influential Pence was in Coats’s decision to take the job. He reluctantly delayed retirement after Pence pleaded with him to accept. Related: How long can his war Cabinet tolerate Trump’s farce? “We need someone with experience,” he says Pence told him. It was a jarring statement – it’s implausible to think of then-Secretary of State John Kerry taking the position because Obama’s vice president, Joe Biden, begged him to reconsider. Usually there is reverence for the man elected president and not a lot of heavy convincing or arm twisting necessary. But it struck me that Coats, like Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, sees himself as a bulwark against all-out chaos. His job has not been easy. Once, when he brought up a highly sensitive national security issue with the president, Trump told him to “go talk to Jared [Kushner, his son-in-law] about that.” Coats found it a little unsettling to be told to talk to a 36-year-old with no government experience, according to a person familiar with the discussion. He has been forced to defend his work against a president who casts doubt on his credibility. But this is what Coats signed up for when he agreed to sign on with Trump – and it wouldn’t be surprising if he decided to walk away from the deal. Since the summit, Trump has already tried to walk back his statements of doubt about the US intelligence community, tweeting Monday, “As I said today and many times before, ‘I have GREAT confidence in MY intelligence people.’ However, I also recognize that in order to build a brighter future, we cannot exclusively focus on the past – as the world’s two largest nuclear powers, we must get along!” It may be too little, too late for the director of national intelligence. Two years before Pence became vice president Coats told me they talked privately about their political futures. Pence was weighing whether to run for governor again or seek the presidency in 2016 and Coats was trying to decide whether to run for re-election to the Senate. Get our free weekly newsletter Sign up for CNN Opinion's new newsletter. Join us on Twitter and Facebook “We talked about the future and where God might lead each of us,” Coats said. “I don’t believe I would be in my current position had we not had this discussion.” Now he probably wishes that talk had never happened.<doc-sep>Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats released a statement on Monday defending America's intelligence community and reaffirming its conclusion Russia meddled in the 2016 election. Coats's statement came in the wake of President Donald Trump's press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. "The Role of the Intelligence Community is to provide the best information and fact-based assessments possible for the President and policymakers," Coats said. "We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security." Trump noted during the press conference that Putin maintained his stance that Russia did not meddle in the U.S. elections. After Putin also affirmed his claim during the press conference, Trump added that "[Putin] just said it’s not Russia. I will say this, I don’t see any reason why it would be." Trump also took a swipe at special counsel Robert Mueller, who recently indicted several members of Russian intelligence for meddling in the 2016 election. He reiterated his long-held stance that his campaign was cleanly run and that it did not collude with Russia. Trump said it is "a shame that there could even be a little bit of a cloud over" his defeat of Hillary Clinton in 2016. Trump has been criticized by both Democrats and Republicans following the press conference for his remarks on Russian election meddling. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) released a statement Monday saying "there is no question that Russia interfered in our election and continues attempts to undermine democracy here and around the world." Coats was nominated to be the director of national intelligence by Trump and took office in March 2017. Coats previously served as a Republican senator from Indiana.<doc-sep>Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats underscored the intelligence community's assessment that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, countering his boss, President Donald Trump. "The role of the Intelligence Community is to provide the best information and fact-based assessments possible for the President and policymakers," Coats said in a statement. "We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security." Coats' statement came hours after Trump stood next to Vladimir Putin at a news conference in Helsinki and accepted the Russian president's denials of interference in the U.S. election. "My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me, some others, they said they think it's Russia," Trump said at the news conference. "I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this, I don't see any reason why it would be." Laterm Trump tweeted that while he has “GREAT confidence in MY intelligence people,” he wants to “get along” with Russia instead of focusing on the past. That tweet came before the "CBS Evening News" broadcast an interview with Trump in which he cast doubt on Coats’ recent warning that the nation is susceptible to a large-scale cybersecurity attack. “I don’t know if I agree with that. I’d have to look,” Trump told CBS anchor Jeff Glor. “But I have a lot of respect for Dan.” Trump's remarks at the news conference brought swift condemnation from Democrats and Republicans alike. Some suggested Coats should step down to maintain his integrity. Mike Murphy, a GOP consultant and Trump critic now at the Harvard Belfer Center, said he gave friends involved in national security a pass for joining the Trump administration. But Trump crossed a line with his comments Monday, Murphy said, by "throwing the entire intelligence community under the bus." "My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me, some others, they said they think it's Russia," Trump said as he stood next to Putin at a joint news conference between the two leaders following their talks in Helsinki. "I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this, I don't see any reason why it would be." Richard Lugar, a former Republican senator from Indiana, said Coats should "just keep his head down and do his duty" because his experience is too valuable to lose. "I think it’s important to the country that he stay where he is," Lugar said. In 2014, Coats was banned from Russia for his efforts as a senator to punish the country because of Moscow’s move to annex the Crimea region of Ukraine. Coats on Friday painted a stark picture of cyber security threats to the nation, comparing the warning signs to those that flashed red before 9/11 — and taking a much tougher stance towards Russia than Trump has. “The system is blinking,” Coats said in remarks at the Hudson Institute. “I believe we’re at a critical point.” Despite Kremlin denials, Coats said, people affiliated with the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency continue to create social media accounts to masquerade as Americans and sow division. Russian government actors have also targeted businesses, state and local governments, critical infrastructure and manufacturing sectors, he said. “Russia has been the most aggressive foreign actor, no question,” Coats said. “They continue their efforts to undermine our democracy.” Coats’ Friday comments came hours after the Justice Department indicted a dozen Russian military intelligence officers for attempting to undermine the 2016 election in part by hacking into the Democratic National Committee. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the head of the Foreign Relations Committee, expressed disbelief Monday that Trump did not back up U.S. intelligence agencies. “When he had the opportunity to defend our intelligence agencies, who work for him, I was very disappointed and saddened with the equivalency he gave between them and what Putin was saying," Corker said. Michael McFaul, the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, tweeted that Trump sided with Putin over Coats. "How humiliating for Coats – broadcast to the world," McFaul tweeted.<doc-sep>
Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats answers questions during a hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee March 6, 2018 in Washington, DC. During a joint press conference with Putin, Trump said "I have confidence in both parties" when asked if he believed his own administration's intelligence chiefs over Putin. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats maintained that Russia interfered in the 2016 election after President Donald Trump refused to say he believed the intelligence community over Russian leader Vladimir Putin . "My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me and some others. They said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin, he just said it’s not Russia," Trump said. Coats shot back on Monday afternoon in a statement sent from DNI's official email service, stating unequivocally that Russia not only interfered in the election, but that its "efforts to undermine our democracy" are ongoing: "The role of the Intelligence Community is to provide the best information and fact-based assessments possible for the President and policymakers. We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security." The intelligence community — a collection of federal intelligence agencies — unanimously agrees that Russia interfered in the 2016 election and showed a clear preference for Trump. Putin has denied that he or his government interfered in the election or colluded with the Trump campaign, though he has said he supported Trump over Hillary Clinton in that election. Trump has shown reluctance to accept the intelligence community's findings and on Monday appeared to give Putin more support than Coats at times. "I don’t see any reason why it would be" Russia who hacked the opposition party, Trump said. "I have great confidence in my intelligence people. But I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today." Trump elaborated on that comment in a tweet later on Monday. Trump tweet Trump's doubts about Coats' intelligence findings appear to echo earlier comments he made in an interview with CBS News on Saturday. Coats recently said America's digital infrastructure is "literally under attack," saying the U.S. is at a "critical point" and compared the "warning signs" of a large-scale cyberattack with the run-up to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Asked about Coats' exhortation, Trump told CBS' Jeff Glor, "Well, I — I don't know if I agree with that. I'd have to look. But I have a lot of respect for Dan." CBS tweet