President Trump contended Tuesday that Russia would likely interfere with the 2018 midterm election, this time working to help Democrats.
“I'm very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming election,” the president tweeted, though he offered no substantiation. “Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely don't want Trump!”
The president has long said Russia didn't try to influence the 2016 presidential election in his favor as the U.S. intelligence community has claimed, even telling a reporter "no" when asked if Russia was still a threat after last week's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Dan Coats has warned of Russia's "ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy." Coats, noting that the "lights are blinking red again" as they did prior to 9/11, also has called for the U.S. to better secure its critical infrastructure against attacks.
In a 17-15 vote, GOP members of House Oversight Committee Tuesday dashed Democrats efforts to subpoena Coats to testify in a public hearing on the Russian election threat.
