James Clapper thinks the House Intelligence Committee, which today said it was ending its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election because it found no evidence of Trump campaign collision, is using what White House counselor Kellyanne Conway once referred to as “alternative facts.”
In response, Fmr. DNI Clapper tells me this is an example of people "living in their own reality bubbles..when we can't agree on basic facts", stands by intel community's 2017 assessment which he says was based on "highly classified" information. https://t.co/OkzoCkDUBP
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) March 12, 2018
Clapper has had a long career first in the U.S. military and then, during much of the 21st century, as part of the government intelligence community, where he compiled a distinguished record for gathering real facts.
He served under President Obama as Director of National Intelligence from 2010 until 2016.
Since his retirement, Clapper has continued to voice his belief that the intelligence gathered by the government supports the claim that Russia interfered in the election, and he has been highly critical of President Trump, who no doubt will celebrate House Republicans ending their Intelligence Committee investigation.
Clapper famously denied in March 2017 allegations by President Trump that he had been the subject of a wiretap by President Obama.
Clapper had his own reason to celebrate this week as the Justice Department said it would not prosecute him for allegedly lying to Congress in 2013 about mass surveillance programs by the government as some Republicans wanted.
At the time Clapper was dealing with classified information, and also pleaded that his testimony was not completely incorrect.
Unlike the House Intel committee, Clapper apparently does not live in a bubble.