Contradicting concerns

National security adviser dismisses claim of Russian aid for Trump in 2020 race

“I haven’t seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump reelected.”

By RISHIKA DUGYALA

National security adviser Robert O’Brien dismissed claims of Russian interference in the 2020 election on behalf of President Donald Trump, contradicting concerns reportedly brought forward by intelligence officials.

“The national security adviser gets pretty good access to our intelligence. I haven't seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump reelected,” O’Brien said in an interview airing Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

O’Brien said he wasn’t going to “play that Washington game” and that he hasn’t seen intelligence or analysis from the intelligence community supporting claims of interference to help the president.

Reports emerged last week that senior intelligence officials have warned the House Intelligence Committee that Russia is meddling to re-elect Trump, who has been lambasted for having an overly warm relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In 2018, Putin admitted he wanted Trump to win the 2016 election but sidestepped answering whether he directed his officials to help.

The intelligence officials also said Russia was interfering in the Democratic primaries to help Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Sanders responded Saturday to the reports before going on to decisively win the Nevada caucuses: “Look, here is the message to Russia: Stay out of American elections.”

Trump on Friday labeled the reports a hoax, tweeting, “Another misinformation campaign is being launched by Democrats in Congress saying that Russia prefers me to any of the Do Nothing Democrat candidates who still have been unable to, after two weeks, count their votes in Iowa. Hoax number 7!” (It‘s not clear why Trump gave it that number.)

By Sunday afternoon, he had doubled down: Trump asked "corrupt politician Adam 'Shifty' Schiff" to stop leaking classified and made-up information, and he called for a new Mueller Report "Democrat Edition" into Sanders' Nevada win.

The Kremlin has denied that it’s interfering in the 2020 election to boost Trump’s re-election chances, saying the reports were “paranoid announcements,” according to Reuters.

O’Brien said he believes countries like Russia and China like to “sow disruption” in the American electorate, but it doesn’t mean they prefer a particular candidate.

“The only analysis I heard was reported second-hand from leaks from the House Intelligence Committee,” he said. “But I've seen zero intelligence that Russia is doing anything to help ... President Trump get reelected. And I don't think it makes any sense.”

ABC host George Stephanopoulos later asked: “After these reports came out, you didn't ask to see this analysis?”

“Look, I've been with the leaders of the Intelligence Committee. They don't have it,” O’Brien said. He added, “All I know is that the Republicans on the side of the House hearing were unhappy with the hearing and said that there was no intelligence to back up what was being said.”

Stephanopoulos countered: “But don't you have a responsibility as national security adviser ... to go find out? And why is the president calling it disinformation?”

“I don't know, these are leaks. You're basing your assumptions, George, on leaks that came out of a House Intelligence Committee hearing,” O’Brien said.