2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A day after he called three former heads of U.S. intelligence agencies ‘political hacks,’ President Donald Trump said he had full confidence in the agencies and indicated he believed their report that concluded Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election.
But the president’s shift in tone failed to mollify the targets of his remarks back home, with former Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan saying he believed Mr. Trump was trying to ‘delegitimize’ the intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia had interfered…
Mr. Trump is in the midst of a 10-day swing through Asia. Standing outside the presidential palace in Hanoi on Sunday with Vietnam President Trần Đại Quang, Mr. Trump begrudgingly acknowledged his acceptance of the intelligence report on the election issued earlier this year. He declined, however, when asked to answer with a yes or no about whether he believed the report was true.
Instead, he expressed confusion that there was any question about his confidence in the agencies and cast doubt on the previous administration, which initially assembled the report.”
-Michael C. Bender, “Trump Backs U.S. Intelligence Agencies When Asked About Russian Meddling,” The Wall Street Journal online, Nov. 12, 2017 01:03pm