Intelligence director Coats testifies he has 'never been pressured' and NSA boss emphatically says he wasn't directed to do anything 'illegal' or 'ina

[superbeets]

[h=1]Intelligence director Coats testifies he has 'never been pressured' and NSA boss emphatically says he wasn't directed to do anything 'illegal' or 'inappropriate' – after they get get grilled on Trump talk about FBI's Russia probe[/h]

• Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats is among a batch of top security officials testifying at the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday
• He got grilled about reports that President Trump cornered him in March to press him to dial back the FBI's Russia investigation
• The talk came two days after FBI director James Comey announced the FBI was looking into possible ties between Russia and Trump campaign
• Coats didn't deny Trump raised the issue with him, but said he 'never felt pressured,' in reference to the president
• NSA director Mike Rogers emphatically said he had never recalled feeling pressured
• Coats confided in colleagues and decided interfering would be improper
• Neither man denied that Trump asked them about the FBI probe
• Coats delivers near-daily intelligence briefings to the president
• The testimony is the undercard for Thursday's must-see testimony by fired FBI Director James Comey

 

[superbeets]

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said he was never 'pressured' into intervening in the FBI's Russia probe – although he refused to deny a media report the President Trump had asked him to weigh in on the matter.
'I have never been pressured. I have never felt pressure to intervene or interfere in any way with shaping intelligence in a political way or in relationship to an ongoing investigation,' Coats said at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Wednesday.
NSA director Mike Rogers said emphatically that he had 'never been directed to do anything I believe to be illegal, immoral, unethical or inappropriate' – pushing back on the same report that described a conversation the two men had with President Trump following fired FBI director James Comey's confirmation that the agency was probing Trump campaign Russia contacts.

+6

From left, National Intelligence Director Dan Coats, National Security Agency director Adm. Michael Rogers and acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, arrive for the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, June 7, 2017, in Washington

+6

NSA director Mike Rogers said emphatically that he had 'never been directed to do anything I believe to be illegal, immoral, unethical or inappropriate'

At a closely-watched hearing Wednesday, Panel vice chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) immediately referenced reports that President Trump had tried to intervene with top intelligence officials to try to pull back the FBI's Russia probe.
Warner said it was 'so jarring to hear recent reports of White House officials – perhaps even the president himself – attempting to interfere and enlist our intelligence committee leaders in any attempt to undermine the ongoing investigation.'
He asked Coats about the report. Coats didn't deny the reporting, but said he didn't want to talk about it in public, at a hearing aired live on cable networks.
'I do not feel it's appropriate for me to in a public session in which confidential conversations between the president and myself I don't believe it's appropriate for me to address that in a public session,' Coats said.

 

[superbeets]

'Interference': Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats (left) told colleagues Trump told him to interfere in the FBI's Russia probe in a private March 22 meeting, sources say

'We are in a public session here and I do not feel that it's appropriate for me to address confidential information' – implying that he could share more in a separate closed setting.
Warner, the top Democrat on the panel, was clearly not satisfied with the answer he got. 'You may not have felt pressure, but if he is even asking, to me that is a very relevant piece of information,' Warner said.
Pressed later in the hearing by panel member Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who Trump invited to the White House for dinner the night before the hearing, neither man would respond to a question about whether they were 'asked' to intervene with the FBI.
'Are you prepared to say that you’ve never been asked by the president or the White House to influence an ongoing investigation?' said Rubio.
'I hate to keep repeating this but I’m going to do it,' Coats responded. 'I’m willing to come to before the committee and tell you what I know and what I don’t know. What I’m not willing to do is to share what I think is confidential information that ought to be protected in an open hearing. And so I’m not prepared to answer your question today.'
Rubio, a Russia hawk who lost the nomination to Trump but then backed him, wasn't satisfied. 'I am not asking for classified information. I am asking whether or not you have ever been asked by anyone to influence an ongoing investigation?'
'I understand but I am just not going to go down that road in a public forum,' responded Coats, refusing to state whether he had been asked to interfere with the probe.
Four top security officials lined up to testify on Capitol Hill Wednesday at a hearing that will probe Russian election interference and set the table for fired FBI Director James Comey's high-stakes testimony tomorrow.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is holding the first of two explosive hearings it lined up this week on Russian interference in the presidential election.

 

[superbeets]

+6

'I do not feel it's appropriate for me to in a public session in which confidential conversations between the president and myself I don't believe it's appropriate for me to address that in a public session,' Coats said

 

[superbeets]

+6

'If any of this is true it would be an appalling and improper use of our intelligence professionals' said Virginia Senator Mark Warner

'If any of this is true it would be an appalling and improper use of our intelligence professionals' and 'could erode the public's trust in our intelligence institutions,' Warner said.
The public airing is the first since an explosive report that President Trump asked two top intelligence heads to help squelch a probe into his fired national security advisor Mike Flynn.
Coats, NSA head Mike Rogers, acting FBI director Andrew McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein all testified Wednesday morning.
Rogers was equally emphatic when asked about getting any Trump pressure.
'To the best of my recollection, I have never been directed to do anything I believe to be illegal, immoral, unethical or inappropriate. And to the best of my recollection during that same period of service, I do not recall every feeling pressured to do so,' he said.
'I'm not going to talk about theoreticals and I'm not going to discuss the specifics of any interaction or conversations ... that I may or may not have had with the president of the United States,' Rogers said.
Former FBI Director James Comey delivers testimony on Thursday for the first time since Trump fired him – and since revelations that Comey kept notes of his encounters with the president where two talked about the Russia probe.
The administration officials are being hauled before the committee to talk about Russian meddling in the election - but Trump's ham-handed canning of Comey will be a front and center matter.
Trump told America's top intelligence official to intervene in order to push the FBI back off on its investigation of ex-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's ties with Russia, sources told The Washington Post.

+6

Probing: Then-FBI director James Comey had announced the prove two days earlier. Coats confided in colleagues but decided interfering would be improper, the sources claimed

Coats told his colleagues that Trump cornered him after a March 22 meeting in March and asked him to intervene in the case, according to the report.
According to the account, Trump pulled Coats and CIA Director Mike Pompeo aside after a meeting with other officials. He then started complaining about the investigation and Comey's handling of the matter before asking the men to intervene, officials told the paper.
Coats, a former Indiana senator and U.S. ambassador to Germany, is expected to be grilled on his interactions with Trump. He previously served on the intelligence panel, so members are likely to give weight to his version of events.
The incident occurred was less than a week after Coats' confirmation, and two days after then-FBI director James Comey confirmed to Congress that the bureau was investigating whether Trump's team had met with Russia.
After the meeting, Coats conferred with his colleagues but decided against doing as the president asked, deciding it would inappropriate, they said.
Trump has already been accused of telling officials to deny the existence of evidence of collusion between Russia and his election campaign.

 

[superbeets]

But this claim - like another made by Comey himself - suggests that he directly tried to influence the course of the investigation.
Brian Hale, a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), said in a statement: 'Director Coats does not discuss his private conversations with the President.
'However, he has never felt pressured by the President or anyone else in the Administration to influence any intelligence matters or ongoing investigations.'
A spokesman for Pompeo declined to comment to the Washington Post, while the White House referred the query to outside lawyers, who have not responded.
The accusations of meddling in the investigation emerged on the same day that it was claimed Comey had attempted to get Attorney General Jeff Sessions to back him up against Trump.
Last month it emerged that Trump had told Comey in February to end the Flynn probe. That claim came in a memo written by Comey after the meeting.
Two days after that, Comey approached Sessions and said he didn't want to be left alone with the president again, sources told The New York Times.

 

[superbeets]

Investigated: The prove is examining whether ex-national security advisor Michael Flynn (left) had improper business with Russia. He resigned after it emerged he had met with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak (right) before Trump's confirmation

Comey didn't elaborate on why he was perturbed, current and former law enforcement officials said, but said Sessions should protect the FBI from being leaned on by the White House.
Sessions told Comey that he could not guarantee Trump wouldn't try to corner him alone again, the sources said.
Comey met privately twice with Barack Obama, suggesting that he was far less comfortable with Trump than with the previous president.
Like Coats, Comey will be questioned by the Senate Intelligence Committee this week: He is scheduled to make his appearance on Thursday.
Also on Tuesday it emerged that Sessions has told Trump he might quit after the president reportedly ranted at him over the continuing probe.
Trump 'lashed out' at the attorney general repeatedly at his decision to recuse himself, ABC News reported.
The president, who only heard of Sessions' decision moments before it was announced, blames that for the growth of the probe.
That has led to 'friction' between the two, sources said, culminating in Sessions' suggestion that he could step down.
Justice Department spokesperson Sarah Isgur Flores declined to comment.

+6

Also on Tuesday it was said that Comey (left) had asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions (right) to stop Trump from getting him alone after the president allegedly told him to stop the probe

 

[superbeets]

Read more:

• Top intelligence official told associates Trump asked him if he could intervene with Comey on FBI Russia probe - The Washington Post
• Comey Told Sessions: Don¿t Leave Me Alone With Trump
• Attorney General Jeff Sessions suggested he could resign amid rising tension with President Trump - ABC News

 

[919]

But this claim - like another made by Comey himself - suggests that he directly tried to influence the course of the investigation.
Brian Hale, a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), said in a statement: 'Director Coats does not discuss his private conversations with the President.
'However, he has never felt pressured by the President or anyone else in the Administration to influence any intelligence matters or ongoing investigations.'
A spokesman for Pompeo declined to comment to the Washington Post, while the White House referred the query to outside lawyers, who have not responded.
The accusations of meddling in the investigation emerged on the same day that it was claimed Comey had attempted to get Attorney General Jeff Sessions to back him up against Trump.
Last month it emerged that Trump had told Comey in February to end the Flynn probe. That claim came in a memo written by Comey after the meeting.
Two days after that, Comey approached Sessions and said he didn't want to be left alone with the president again, sources told The New York Times.

Adam Schiff
@RepAdamSchiff






Whether Dirs. Rogers & Coats felt pressured is not issue – whether @POTUS sought to interfere is. Public deserves an answer; we will get it.

 

[919]

I find it odd that they refused to disclose the facts of their conversations with POTUS (not classified), they would only relay their interpretations of talks with Trump

 

[919]

http://www.snappytv.com/tc/4936793/3140805

 

[Dave007inVegas]

I find it odd that they refused to disclose the facts of their conversations with POTUS (not classified), they would only relay their interpretations of talks with Trump

I find it odd that Obama refused to disclose his college records. Not classified yet sealed.

 

[Enfuego]

I find it odd that they refused to disclose the facts of their conversations with POTUS (not classified), they would only relay their interpretations of talks with Trump

Because their private conversations are private and not for dumbasses like you and I. Do you share your private conversations between you and your boss with complete strangers?

In short, their conversations are none of your goddamn business.

 

[Seymour]

Of course Trump told them to quit fucking around with this fake news Russian shit - why wouldn't he? he wants Congress to get cracking on real shit like the elimination of Obamacare and tax reform

 

[919]

Because their private conversations are private and not for dumbasses like you and I. Do you share your private conversations between you and your boss with complete strangers?

In short, their conversations are none of your goddamn business.

Lol...When asked by Congress when there are implications of obstruction of justice, they should answer. I'm not sure you understand what's going on...

Also, they had no issues disclosing their interpretation of their meeting.

 

[919]

Of course Trump told them to quit fucking around with this fake news Russian shit - why wouldn't he? he wants Congress to get cracking on real shit like the elimination of Obamacare and tax reform

Interesting that you think Trump obstructed justice...

 

[GasMan]

Strike 1 against the Dems.
Fucking idiots.

Strike 2 comes tomorrow w Comey.

Then what is the dumbfuck liberals turn for their silly game?

 

[NFLTrends]

Strike 1 against the Dems.
Fucking idiots.

Strike 2 comes tomorrow w Comey.

Then what is the dumbfuck liberals turn for their silly game?

but, but, but... RUSSIA!

Ummm, but... PILES AND PILES OF EVIDENCE!

Ummm, but, ummm, Your a racist, homophobic, misogynist, white person!

 

[superbeets]

Strike 1 against the Dems.
Fucking idiots.

Strike 2 comes tomorrow w Comey.

Then what is the dumbfuck liberals turn for their silly game?

 

[roadreeler57]

Look at all the taxpayer money their wasting on this bullshit & the Republicans let them do it....Total 100% bullshit...