In Colorado. Visiting security officials caught off guard. »
President Donald Trump caught two of his top national security officials, who were in Colorado, off guard Thursday when his press secretary announced plans to issue a White House invitation to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
In Denver, FBI Director Christopher Wray was talking with police chiefs, sheriffs and media from Colorado and Wyoming when he was asked about the tweet from press secretary Sarah Hucakbee Sanders.
“I just heard about the meeting as I was walking down the hallway,” Wray said. “I’m going to wait until I get more of the facts.”
In Aspen, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats was in the middle of a live audience question-andanswer session at the Aspen Security Forum when he was asked about the news. When NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, the moderator, announced the breaking news, Coats leaned toward her and said, “Say that again. Did I hear you? OK. That’s gonna be special,” according to video footage on the security forum’s website.
Both men were in Colorado because of the security forum, an annual meeting where government officials, experts and top security strategists gather to hold in-depth discussions on homeland and international security issues.
Wray spoke on Wednesday evening in Aspen and then spent Thursday at the FBI’s Denver field office where he met with U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer and his staff, Denver’s Special- Agent-in-Charge Calvin Shivers, field agents, state and local law enforcement and media.
In Denver, Wray did not address the ongoing criminal investigation into whether Trump and his advisers colluded with the Russian government to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
But he said the FBI was working with multiple partners to prevent similar meddling in the 2018 midterm elections as part of the Foreign Influence Task Force. That task force includes the FBI’s counterintelligence, cyber, criminal and counter-terrorism units as well as agents on the ground at field offices across the United States.
“Our focus is on the threats,” he said.
Countering any election meddling will require help from private industry, including companies that provide equipment for elections as well as social media companies where so much misinformation is planted and spread, Wray said.
“It’s not a governmentonly response,” he said.
While Trump has been critical of the country’s intelligence agencies in light of the Russia investigation, Wray said morale at the bureau was in a good place.
“I actually think our morale is really just fine, contrary to what you might read or see on TV,” he said. “What I try to keep people focused on is the work and the people we do the work for.”
In his meeting with the police chiefs and sheriffs, Wray pledged to continue offering the FBI as a resource for local law enforcement and to continue participating in joint enforcement efforts such as the Denver Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Those partnerships are critical to addressing vexing and persistent problems, he said.
“Law enforcement has to be able to tackle these things together or we’re in a world of trouble,” he said.