Kaine hits Trump for not attending intel briefings

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) on Thursday criticized President-elect Donald Trump for not attending intelligence briefings on Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election.

“I do go to my intelligence briefings, and I know what the evidence is. If he went to his intelligence briefings, maybe he would have a different conclusion about this,” Kaine told CNN.

“Why does President-elect Trump, again and again and again, take it upon himself to be [Russian President] Vladimir Putin’s defense lawyer rather than listening to and respecting the intelligence professionals of the Unites States?” the former Democratic vice presidential nominee said.

{mosads}Kaine noted that as a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, he has received classified briefings on the intelligence community’s findings.

“Those intelligence professionals, who I respect, have reached a unanimous conclusion that Russia engaged in cyberattacks on the presidential election with the goal of influencing it in favor of the election of Donald Trump,” he said.

Kaine said Trump’s dismissive tweets about the intelligence community demean the careers of dedicated professionals.

“When I see the tweets that President-elect Trump sends out, one, he is demeaning the professionalism and careers of some very, very smart people, and second, I note that he doesn’t go to his intelligence briefings most days,” he said.

Trump on Tuesday tweeted that his scheduled intelligence briefing on the Russian hacking was delayed until Friday, speculating that the intelligence community needs “more time” to “build a case” against Moscow.