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White House Refutes Clapper Claim: 'He Was Unaware of Any Collusion'

White House Refutes Clapper Claim: 'He Was Unaware of Any Collusion'
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (AP)

By    |   Friday, 12 May 2017 03:57 PM EDT

On the same day that former director of national intelligence James Clapper said he's not sure whether or not Russia colluded with President Donald Trump's campaign, the White House pushed back on the statement.

"I think on several occasions, director Clapper said he has no knowledge of collusion. That's it. That's the point," White House press secretary Sean Spicer said during Friday's press briefing.

"He [was] the director of national intelligence. On multiple occasions prior to today, he made it very clear that he was unaware of any collusion."

About two hours earlier, Clapper said during an interview he could not say with certainty whether Trump and/or his campaign worked with the Russians to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton last year. That goes against what Trump has been claiming for months, which was that his campaign was cleared of any wrongdoing by Clapper and other intelligence community leaders.

"It is not surprising or abnormal that I would not have known about the investigation, even more importantly the content of that investigation," Clapper said. "So I don't know if there was collusion or not. I don't know if there was evidence of collusion or not, nor should I have in this particular context."

Trump tweeted this Friday morning:

Clapper said in early March he did not know of any evidence that showed collusion before he left his job on Jan. 20.

"This could have unfolded or become available in the time since I left the government," Clapper said. "But at the time I — we had no evidence of such collusion."

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Politics
On the same day that former director of national intelligence James Clapper said he's not sure whether or not Russia colluded with President Donald Trump's campaign, the White House pushed back on the statement.
white house, refutes, james clapper, russia, collusion
288
2017-57-12
Friday, 12 May 2017 03:57 PM
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