In skipping daily briefings, Trump shows ambivalence toward intel agencies

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump's reluctance to receive daily intelligence briefings — and his blunt rejection of the CIA's assessment of Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election — suggest a rocky start to the president-elect's relationship with intelligence agencies.

Since the election, Trump has received the President's Daily Briefing only four times, amid meetings with potential cabinet secretaries and other transition business. And on Sunday, the president-elect suggested that the rate of briefings won't change once he's sworn in next month.

"I get it when I need it," Trump told Fox News Sunday. "I'm a smart person. I don't have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years."
Trump's cool attitude toward intelligence comes amid a debate over whether the hacking of Democratic emails during the presidential campaign may have been an effort by Russia to get him elected. Trump said Sunday there's no consensus by the intelligence community on the issue, despite reports that the CIA has concluded the Russians were trying to help him.

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