James Clapper: Obama ‘Did Not’ Tell Us What Conclusion to Reach

Collins: “Good to have you here, Director Clapper. I mean, it was a remarkable appearance by someone who now holds the job that you previously held. And she‘s basically accusing the president that you served under and the people you served with, and you, of fabricating an intelligence assessment to to damage President Trump. What‘s your response to that?”
Clapper: “Well, it‘s patently false and unfounded. I was present at the meeting that everybody talks about, and I heard directly what President Obama asked us to do, which was to compile all the reporting and summarize it, that we had accumulated in the run-up to the election of 2016, put it in one document in various classified — various levels of classification, and including a public release. And he wanted that done before the end of his administration. It was not to concoct intelligence or make it up or anything of the sort, which is absurd.”
Collins: “So he told you to investigate. But you‘re saying he did not tell you what conclusion to reach?”
Clapper: “He did not.”
Collins: “Because that‘s what they‘re essentially alleging here. She‘s saying the assessment used unclear, unknown sources, and that it was subject to unusual directives from President Obama, and also the allegation that it was — that it was a rushed assessment, essentially.”
Clapper: “Well, yeah. Yes, we had a short deadline to get it done, because the president stipulated he wanted it completed before the end of his administration in order to be able to hand off a compilation of what the Russians had attempted to do to influence the outcome of the election in 2016. He wanted to be able to hand it to the then-President-Elect Trump and to the Congress.”o.