CIA Director Brennan Warned Russia Against Election Meddling

Former CIA Director John Brennan told the House intelligence committee Tuesday that he warned Russia against meddling in the U.S. presidential election. Testifying to the House Intelligence Committee, Brennan said that on Aug. 4, 2016, he spoke to Alexander Bortnikov, who is the head of Russia’s FSB, and told him that if the Kremlin continued to interfere it would backfire. Bortnikov, he said, denied any meddling and promised to raise the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin. As many other officials have since said, Brennan testified that “Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the electoral process,” to hurt Clinton, and to help Trump. He added, “It should be clear to everyone that Russia brazenly interfered in our 2016 election process.”