Ex-CIA chief says he warned Russians about vote meddling

Former CIA Director John Brennan said Tuesday he personally warned Russia last summer against interfering in the U.S. presidential campaign, telling the Russians that continued meddling would backfire and prevent any warming of relations after the election.

The former CIA chief also told the House intelligence committee that he had become so concerned about Russian interference — and contacts between Americans “involved” with the Trump campaign and the Russians — that he convened a group of officials from the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency in late July to focus exclusively on the issue. Republicans on the committee pushed Brennan about whether there was evidence of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, a point President Donald Trump has tried to enlist allies to quash. Brennan said the CIA focuses on intelligence, not “evidence,” and he was not able to answer that question.