CIA Backpedals After Director Says Russia Didn't Influence Election Outcome

The CIA is backpedaling after director Mike Pompeo said Thursday Russia's intrusion into the 2016 U.S. presidential election did not sway the final result.

During a talk in front of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, D.C., Pompeo had this to say about America's Cold War foe and its election interference:

"The intelligence community's assessment is that the Russian meddling that took place did not affect the outcome of the election."

That created an outcry from Democrats like Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the top-ranked Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

"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 said. "That is a presidential talking point, not an agency conclusion."

Later Thursday, CIA spokesman Dean Boyd told NPR Pompeo's remark did not mean that the intelligence community's assessment of Russia's actions — that it stuck its nose into the U.S. election process — has not changed.

"The intelligence assessment with regard to Russian election meddling has not changed, and the director did not intend to suggest that it had," Boyd said.

President Donald Trump has insisted for months that he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton because he was a better candidate, not because Russia helped him win. Several ongoing investigations, including one at the Department of Justice, are looking at whether his campaign colluded with Russia.

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