DHS Secretary says she’s unaware Russia wanted Trump to win

Nielsen is telling reporters, “I do not believe I’ve seen that conclusion that the specific intent was to help President Trump win. I’m not aware of that.” (Photo By Jetta Disco/United States Department of Homeland Security – https://www.flickr.com/photos/dhsgov/38897290971/in/photostream/, Public Domain)

WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen says she is unaware of intelligence assessments concluding that Russia favoured President Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

Nielsen is telling reporters, “I do not believe I’ve seen that conclusion that the specific intent was to help President Trump win. I’m not aware of that.”

But she said she generally had no reason to doubt any intelligence assessment.

Her comments stand at odds with the U.S. intelligence community, which concluded that Russia tried to influence the 2016 election to benefit Trump.

The Senate Intelligence Committee said last week said it agreed with that 2017 assessment.

Nielsen was speaking to reporters after briefing House lawmakers on election security efforts.