Contradicting U.S. intelligence, Trump claims 'nobody really knows' if Russia was behind election meddling

(Image credit: Screenshot/The Associated Press)

published 6 July 2017

Despite widespread agreement among U.S. intelligence that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, President Trump hesitated to pin the meddling on Russia during an appearance Thursday in Warsaw. "Nobody really knows for sure," Trump said, just a day ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The New York Times reported last month that Russia's interference is a "basic fact agreed upon by four American intelligence agencies."

Trump indicated that he thinks the election interference was probably the work of Russia, but he left open the possibility that it wasn't. "I agree, I think it was Russia, but I think it was probably other people and/or countries," Trump said, adding that he thinks "a lot of people interfered."