Ex-NSA Director Disputes Report That Trump Asked Him To Push Back On Collusion Probe

REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

Former National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers on Tuesday disputed a report published in May 2017 alleging that President Donald Trump asked him to push back against the FBI’s collusion investigation.

“I’ve never had a discussion with collusion with the president of the United States,” Rogers said at an event held at George Mason University, according to CBS News.

“I’ve never been directed to do anything, coerced — any time I had a discussion I felt I was able to say, ‘Hey, here’s my view on that.'” (RELATED: Director Of National Intelligence Says He Can’t Comment On Report That Trump Asked Him To Deny Russia Collusion)

The Washington Post reported May 22, 2017, that Trump separately asked Rogers and Dan Coates, the director of the office of national intelligence, to push back against the FBI’s investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government.

The alleged request came after then-FBI Director James Comey testified that the bureau was investigating whether members of the Trump team conspired with the Kremlin to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Citing multiple anonymous sources, WaPo reported that Rogers refused to comply with Trump’s request. The newspaper also reported that a senior NSA official wrote a memo detailing the interaction between Trump and Rogers. (RELATED: Senate Intel Chairman Says He Has Not Seen Evidence Of Collusion)

“I was never asked that,” Rogers said Tuesday in regard to whether Trump made the request.

When asked why he did not publicly rebut the story after it was published, Rogers said that if he spent time shooting down inaccurate media reports, “I’d never get anything done.”

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