WASHINGTON - U.S. director of
intelligence Dan Coats said on Saturday he in no way meant to be
disrespectful toward President Donald Trump with what he called
his "awkward response" to news of a second planned Trump summit
with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Coats issued a statement seeking to control the damage from
an interview he gave at the Aspen Institute security forum in
Colorado on Thursday in which he expressed surprise when the
news broke that Trump was planning another Putin summit.
“Some press coverage has mis-characterized my intentions in
responding to breaking news presented to me during a live
interview. My admittedly awkward response was in no way meant to
be disrespectful or criticize the actions of the president,"
Coats said.
"I and the entire intel(ligence) community are committed to
providing the best possible intelligence to inform and support
President Trump’s ongoing efforts to prevent Russian meddling in
our upcoming elections, to build strong relationships
internationally in order to maintain peace, denuclearize
dangerous regimes and protect our nation and our allies," Coats
added in his statement.
Coats was on stage at the Aspen Institute taking questions
when he was informed by Andrea Mitchell, the MSNBC anchor who
moderated the event, about the second summit.
"Say that again. Did I hear you?" he asked, appearing
amused. "OK, that's going to be special."
Coats' appearance at the Aspen Institute had generated some
frustration at the White House. One source said there was a
belief that if Coats had been in Washington instead of Colorado,
he would not have been surprised by the news.
Trump has drawn heavy criticism from both Republicans and
Democrats over his summit last Monday in Helsinki, Finland, with
Putin, when he seemed reluctant to blame Russia for meddling in
the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Trump later made clear he supported the U.S. intelligence
community's findings about Russian meddling.