"Does intelligence exist that can definitively answer the following question, whether there were improper contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials?" This was the question posed by Chuck Todd to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Meet the Press last Sunday.
"We did not include any evidence in our report … that had anything, that had any reflection of collusion between members of the Trump campaign and the Russians," Clapper answered. Todd pressed: "But does it exist?" Todd asked.
"Not to my knowledge," Clapper said.
This pretty well sums up the furor over Russian involvement in the 2016 election. The charges of collusion between the Trump campaign and a foreign government to change its outcome are nearly deafening. Yet they are no more credible or backed up by facts, at this point anyway, than President Trump's charges that his phone lines were tapped by his predecessor.
Did Russian propaganda organs attempt to affect American public opinion in 2016? Definitely.
Get the Exclusive
04.29.2024