SUSPICIOUS

Former Officials: Trump’s Stance on Russia ‘Defies Logic’

Former officials say Trump willfully ignoring intelligence briefings.

Former high-ranking officials in the U.S. intelligence community have expressed dismay over Donald Trump’s refusal to take their word about Russia’s involvement in recent hacks. At a recent classified briefing, Trump was informed in no uncertain terms that Russia stole files from the Democratic National Committee in a bid to sway the election results, one official said Friday. But he has ignored the warning and continued to tell supporters Russia isn’t behind the incident. “It defies logic,” retired Gen. Michael V. Hayden, former director of the CIA and the National Security Agency, said in comments to The Washington Post. “He seems to ignore their advice,” Hayden said. “Why would you assume this would change when he is in office?” Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on Russia’s involvement in the recent hacking scandal, and officials now say this is after he was explicitly told by officials that Russia was behind the DNC hack. “I don’t recall a previous candidate saying they didn’t believe” information from intelligence briefings, John Rizzo, a former CIA lawyer, told The Washington Post.