Robert OBrien, the White House national security adviser, dismissed claims that the Russians are interfering in the 2020 election or are attempting to help President Donald Trumps reelection campaign.
“I havent seen any intelligence to support the reports that were leaked out of the House. But its just hard to comment on that because, again, I wasnt there,” Robert OBrien told CBS Newss “Face the Nation” on Sunday morning.
Those leaks, he noted, were released from a hearing conducted by the House Intelligence Committee, led by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). “I havent seen any intelligence that would back up what Im reading in the papers,” he said.
Earlier this month, intelligence officials told bipartisan members of the Intelligence panel about alleged election interference on behalf of Russia, according to reports. Republicans asked for evidence. Those reports claimed intelligence officials then briefed the White House on election security.
“From what I understand about the report … I get this second hand, but from Republican congressmen that were in the committee, there was no intelligence behind it,” OBrien said. “I think this is the same old story that weve heard before. … Weve been very tough on Russia, and weve been great on election security. So I think its a nonstory,” he also told ABCs “This Week” on Sunday.
On Friday, after reports on the alleged interference surfaced, Trump was similarly dismissive, saying it was part of a Democratic-led plan to undermine his presidency.
Trump wrote on Twitter that it is merely “another misinformation campaign is being launched by Democrats in Congress.” He added in another post: “Be careful of Russia, Russia, Russia.”
The Kremlin said that new allegations that Russia is trying to influence the 2020 election are false.
“These are more paranoid announcements which, to our regret, will multiply as we get closer to the [U.S.] election,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov
The Epoch Times
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