FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday described Russian malign influence efforts to sow discord among the American public as “very active.”
Wray was asked to directly respond to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denials of Russian interference in the 2016 election during an appearance as the Aspen Security Forum. Wray described the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment of Russian meddling as sound, adding that Moscow “continues to engage in malign influence operations to this day.”
“He’s got his view,” Wray told NBC News anchor Lester Holt. “I can tell you what my view is – the intelligence community’s assessment has not changed, my view has not changed, which is that Russia attempted to interfere with the last election and that it continues to engage in malign influence operations to this day.”
Wray’s remarks Wednesday evening follow a series of conflicting statements President Trump has offered this week on Russia’s election interference. On Monday, Trump publicly cast doubt on the intelligence community’s judgment of Russian interference following a meeting with Putin – a statement he later walked back.