President Donald Trump said on Saturday he believes President Vladimir Putin's denials of Russian interference in the 2016 US election, but appeared to contradict himself on Sunday when he said he was 'with our agencies' on the matter. Speaking at a news conference in Hanoi on Sunday, Trump stated, 'As to whether I believe it or not, I'm with our agencies, especially as currently constituted.'
Senator John McCain criticised the president's comments, tweeting that there was 'nothing America First about taking the word of KGB colonel [Putin]' over the US intelligence community. The CIA director, Mike Pompeo, also issued a statement reaffirming the January 2017 intelligence community assessment that Russia interfered in the election, saying 'the intelligence assessment with regard to Russian election meddling has not changed.'
On Saturday, Trump launched a tirade against special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between his campaign and Russia. Trump claimed the probe could cost 'millions and millions of lives' by hindering agreement with Moscow over conflicts in Syria and Ukraine and a looming confrontation with North Korea. He also disparaged former intelligence officials, calling them 'political hacks'.
Despite his qualifying remarks on Sunday, Trump suggested on Saturday that he put more faith in Putin's word, saying 'Every time he sees me he says 'I didn't do that' and I really believe that when he tells me that.' He described the Mueller investigation as 'Democrat-inspired' and a 'hit job', and claimed it was preventing normalisation of relations with Russia.
