INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Wednesday [7-18-18] defended his conduct at a news conference earlier in the week alongside Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a day after he reversed his public questioning of U.S. intelligence agencies following a barrage of criticism…The president later Wednesday morning wrote on Twitter that unspecified people hated that he got along well with Mr. Putin, and ‘would rather go to war than see this.’ Mr. Trump didn’t specify which people ‘at the higher ends of intelligence’ he was referring to. Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, said in a statement following the Helsinki news conference that the agency had been clear in its assessments of Russian interference and it would ‘continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security.’ Former CIA director John Brennan, who served under former President Barack Obama and has been a frequent critic of Mr. Trump, said Mr. Trump’s performance at the news conference ‘was nothing short of treasonous.’ At the conclusion of remarks to reporters at the White House later Wednesday, amid shouting as the press was being escorted out of the room, Mr. Trump was asked whether he believes Russia is still targeting the U.S. He said: ‘Thank you very much. No.’”
–Rebecca Ballhaus, “Assailing ‘Haters,’ Trump Again Defends Remarks Alongside Putin,” The Wall Street Journal, July 18, 2018 1:40 pm