Kirstjen Nielsen: I Haven’t ‘Seen’ Intel Reports Claiming Putin Preferred Trump

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Tuesday that she has not seen the U.S. intelligence community’s report claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin preferred President Donald Trump to win the 2016 election—and that Russian interference worked toward that goal. “I do not believe that I’ve seen that conclusion that the specific intent was to help President Trump win,” she told reporters after a closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill, according to Politico. “I’m not aware of that.” She added that she has “generally... no reason to doubt any intelligence assessment,” and believes “that Russia did and will continue to try to manipulate Americans perspective on a whole variety of issues.” After Nielsen made those remarks, a spokesperson for the Senate Intelligence Committee’s ranking Democrat, Mark Warner, sent out findings from two reports and the special counsel’s indictment in an email titled, “I honestly can’t believe I have to keep doing this.”