A6 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2020 WSCE LATIMES.COM
THE NATION
WASHINGTON — Presi-
dent Trump’s national secu-
rity advisor, in an exchange
that touched on a perennial
sore point for the president,
said Sunday he had no
knowledge of intelligence
agency warnings that Rus-
sia is trying once again to
help Trump by interfering in
the 2020 campaign.
Another senior White
House aide, meanwhile, in-
sisted that last week’s
abrupt removal of retired
Vice Adm. Joseph Maguire
as acting director of national
intelligence was unrelated to
Trump’s unhappiness over a
closed-door intelligence
briefing to lawmakers about
Russian attempts at elec-
tion interference.
Russian campaign med-
dling remains a highly sensi-
tive subject for the president
as he presses ahead with his
reelection bid and as the
Democratic contest for the
nomination to oppose him
gathers pace.
Trump has moved to
punish those he saw as sup-
porters of his impeachment
for abusing power and ob-
structing Congress. During
the proceedings, which
ended with his acquittal this
month in a Senate trial, his
backers suggested that
Ukraine — not Russia — in-
terfered with the 2016 cam-
paign.
National security advisor
Robert C. O’Brien, in an in-
terview aired Sunday on
CBS’ “Face the Nation,” said
he was not aware of any ef-
fort by Russia to try to bol-
ster Trump’s 2020 prospec-
ts, as the U.S. intelligence
community concluded Mos-
cow sought to do in 2016.
“There’s no briefing that
I’ve received, that the presi-
dent has received, that says
that President Putin is do-
ing anything to try and influ-
ence the elections in favor of
President Trump,” O’Brien
said. “We just haven’t seen
that intelligence.”
Multiple news reports
have said lawmakers were
told last week that the
Kremlin is seeking to aid
Trump, and also looking to
help Sen. Bernie Sanders of
Vermont secure the Demo-
cratic nomination.
Sanders acknowledged
Friday that he was apprised
last month by U.S. officials
about unspecified Russian
efforts to help his chances ofbecoming the nominee.
Trump’s campaign aides
have said they believe he
would fare well in a matchup
with Sanders, and the presi-
dent Sunday congratulated
the Vermont senator for his
“great win” in Saturday’s Ne-
vada caucuses.
He also suggested anew
that Democratic Party lead-
ers might seek to deprive
him of the nomination.
“I hope they’re treated
fairly,” Trump said of the
Sanders campaign, speak-
ing to reporters outside the
White House before leaving
for a visit to India.
A prominent Democratic
lawmaker Sunday pointed
to the prospect of intelli-
gence findings on Russia’s
activities being wielded as a
weapon by the White Housein the months between now
and the November vote.
“I think we all worry
about this administration
controlling massive
amounts of intelligence,
massive amounts of classi-
fied information, and leak-
ing it out to the press when it
advantages them,” Sen.
Christopher S. Murphy (D-
Conn.) said on CNN’s “State
of the Union.”
Senior Trump aides,
meanwhile, appeared on the
defensive over last week’s re-
placement of Maguire, the
acting director of national
intelligence, with a staunch
Trump partisan, Richard
Grenell, the U.S. ambas-
sador to Germany.
Vice President Mike
Pence’s chief of staff, Marc
Short, denied in an inter-view on “Fox News Sunday”
that Maguire’s precipitous
departure was prompted by
Trump’s displeasure over a
briefing to members of Con-
gress given by one of
Maguire’s deputies.
The official told the
House Intelligence Commit-
tee about continuing Rus-
sian efforts to interfere in the
U.S. presidential campaign.
“Did the president have
information from [the direc-
tor’s office] that he was dis-
turbed about, in terms of
what the House had been
told?” host Chris Wallace
asked.
“No,” Short said.
Pence’s chief of staff also
depicted Maguire’s depar-
ture as in line with the sched-
uled end of his tenure by
March 12, since he was serv-ing in an acting capacity.
“It’s not firing,” he said.
When Wallace pressed
him about whether Maguire
was instructed to clear his
desk by 9 a.m. the next day,
Short said: “I don’t know if
he was told or not — I haven’t
heard that.”
Trump’s own remarks,
though, suggested he was
upset about what trans-
pired in the briefing. He sug-
gested that Rep. Adam B.
Schiff (D-Burbank) was be-
hind news reports about
Kremlin efforts to influence
the election outcome.
“They ought to investi-
gate Adam Schiff for leaking
that intelligence,” Trump
said in brief remarks before
leaving for India. He did not
provide any evidence for
holding Schiff responsible. A
number of lawmakers, both
Republican and Demo-
cratic, were present for the
briefing.
Schiff, who chairs the In-
telligence Committee, has
long been a target of
Trump’s ire over impeach-
ment and the Russia investi-
gation by special counsel
Robert S. Mueller III, which
wrapped up last year.
Mueller cited a sweeping
and systemic effort by Mos-
cow to interfere in the 2016
vote on Trump’s behalf, but
said he did not find proof
Trump’s campaign con-
spired with Russia.
Senior law enforcement
and intelligence officials
have repeatedly issued pub-
lic warnings about Russian
activity surrounding the
2020 vote.
This month, FBI Direc-
tor Christopher A. Wray told
the House Judiciary Com-
mittee that Moscow’s disin-
formation efforts are con-
tinuing.
“It never stopped. It hap-
pened in 2016, and it’s been
continuing ever since then,”
Wray told the committee on
Feb. 5. “It is a 24/7, 365-days-
a-year threat.”Trump officials dismiss Russia suspicions
Aides try to downplay
intelligence suggesting
that Moscow is again
plotting to interfere in
U.S. presidential race.
By Laura King
PRESIDENT TRUMPsuggested Sunday that Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), a frequent critic, is behind
news reports about Kremlin efforts to influence the election. Trump did not provide evidence for his claim.Jacquelyn MartinAssociated PressLetKilter
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