Trump says he misspoke in Helsinki, accepts that Russia meddled

After outrage over his failure to hold Russia accountable for interfering in the 2016 U.S. election during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he accepts the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Russia did in fact meddle in the election.

At a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin after a summit in Helsinki on Monday, Trump stunned politicians back home by shying away from criticizing Putin for Moscow's efforts to undermine the election, contradicting the findings of American intelligence agencies. 

Trump, whose summit with Putin concluded a week-long European trip that included a NATO meeting and talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May, pushed back on Tuesday at the storm of criticism, blaming media coverage. 

While I had a great meeting with NATO, raising vast amounts of money, I had an even better meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia. Sadly, it is not being reported that way - the Fake News is going Crazy!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 17, 2018

On Monday, when asked about the meddling, Trump said that while his intelligence officials had said "they think it's Russia" that Putin "just said it's not Russia."

"I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be," Trump said.

• RECAP | Missed the Trump-Putin news conference that stunned Washington? Review it here​

But back at the White House on Tuesday, he told reporters that he meant to say wouldn't instead of would. He told reporters, "The sentence should have been I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia." 

As the president said he has "full faith" in the intelligence agencies, the lights in the conference room briefly went out. As they came back on, he said that while he feels strongly that Russia's actions had no impact on the outcome of the election, he "accepts" the intelligence community's conclusion that meddling took place. 

The condemnation for his performance at the Helsinki news conference, including from many fellow Republicans, matched or eclipsed previous controversies in Trump's turbulent 18 months in office. 

"The president needs to understand he has damaged U.S. foreign policy," Rep. Mike Turner, a Republican on the House intelligence committee, told CNN. "He's given them a pass and is certainly not holding them accountable for what they're doing." 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell addressed the issue Tuesday, saying it is "indisputable" that Russia meddled in 2016. 

"I think the Russians need to know that there are a lot of us who fully understand what happened in 2016 and it really better not happen again in 2018," the Republican leader said.

Speaking Tuesday, Trump said he accepted that meddling happened — but reiterated that there was no collusion between his campaign and Russians.  He also said that his administration would repel any effort to interfere in the upcoming midterm elections.

He reiterated his message that he thinks the U.S. and Russia should work to improve relations and said that "diplomacy and engagement" is better than hostility and conflict.

Russia's government 'menacing'

Ahead of Trump's Tuesday appearance, some lawmakers said they would seek remedies in Congress. 

Republican Senator Jeff Flake, a longtime Trump critic, has raised the idea of passing a resolution that would voice lawmakers' support for the U.S. intelligence community and U.S. allies, many of who are feeling the sting of strong Trump criticism in recent weeks. 

• TRANSCRIPT
  Read and watch the full joint Trump-Putin news conference

Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate foreign relations panel, has floated a resolution similar to Flake's.

Several senators, including Republican Ben Sasse, Republican Pat Toomey, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the Senate intelligence panel, have backed more sanctions on Russia, but it was unclear whether Senate or House of Representatives leaders would support such a move or how new sanctions might be crafted.

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House Speaker Paul Ryan, calling Russia's government "menacing," said he was willing to consider additional sanctions on Russia, and reiterated his support for U.S. intelligence community findings that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

"We just conducted a yearlong investigation into Russia's interference in our elections," he said. "They did interfere in our elections — it's really clear. There should be no doubt about that."

Ryan said Putin "does not share our interests ... does not share our values."

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