The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday rebuked CIA Director Mike Pompeo for "minimizing the significance" of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
In a statement, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said he was "deeply disappointed" Pompeo asserted the intelligence community had not found any effect on the election from Moscow's interference.
"In fact, the Intelligence community made no such finding, nor could it, as the agencies made clear in their January assessment," Schiff said, The Hill reported.
Schiff also said it was not "the job of the intelligence community" to say whether Russian meddling was "determinative in such a close election" and warned the CIA chief against making similar statements in the future.
"This is not the first time the director has made statements minimizing the significance of what the Russians did, but it needs to be the last," Schiff said, The Hill reported.
"The fact that the machines which tabulated the votes were unaltered, does not mean that the influence campaign did not have its intended effect, and the head of our intelligence agencies must not allow themselves to suggest otherwise," Schiff continued. "That is a presidential talking point, not an agency conclusion."
The Hill noted that although an intelligence community report concluded Russia tried to disrupt the 2016 presidential election and sway the race in President Donald Trump's favor, but made no assessment regarding the success of the effort.
A CIA spokesman denied to The Washington Post that Pompeo intended to mislead the public with his remarks.
"The intelligence assessment with regard to Russian election meddling has not changed," said the spokesman, Ryan Trapani, "and the director did not intend to suggest that it had."
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