Trump’s Remarks on Putin and the Russia Investigation

Asked whether he believed U.S. intelligence agencies or Russian President Vladimir Putin on whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election, President Donald Trump declined to directly respond. Instead, he raised questions about the Russia investigation, including referring to a conspiracy theory that was shot down by his own Justice Department.

• Trump implied that the FBI’s investigation was compromised by the Democratic National Committee’s refusal to turn over its servers. But the former FBI director testified last year that it did not hurt the investigation — a statement since supported by last week’s indictment against 12 Russian military intelligence agents.
• The president also claimed there were “missing” servers associated with a “Pakistani gentleman that worked on the DNC.” But the Justice Department has charged that man with bank fraud. It said there was “no evidence” to various allegations surrounding the case about stolen congressional equipment or documents.

In a joint press conference with Putin after the two men met privately in Helsinki on July 16, Trump was asked by a reporter, “Who do you believe?” — Putin or U.S. intelligence agencies. In his answer, 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.” Here’s the full question and response:

Just now, President Putin denied having anything to do with the election interference in 2016. Every U.S. intelligence agency has concluded that Russia did. What — who — my first question