Donald Trump: US President vows to support CIA in bid to mend ties
Updated
President Donald Trump has moved to mend his tumultuous relationship with the United States' spy agencies, travelling to CIA headquarters on his first full day in office and assuring officials, "I am so behind you".
Key points:
- Donald Trump makes a public gesture to intelligence officials he's been critical of
- "There's nobody that feels stronger about CIA than Donald Trump," he says
- He criticises media coverage of Inauguration Day in unscripted address
Mr Trump's decision to visit CIA headquarters just outside of Washington was aimed at making a public gesture to the intelligence officials he disparaged during the transition.
He had repeatedly challenged the agencies' assessment that Russia meddled in the presidential race to help him win and suggested intelligence officials were behind the leak of an unverified dossier that claimed Russia had collected compromising financial or personal information about him.
During remarks to about 400 CIA officials, Mr Trump denied he had had a feud with the intelligence community, saying it was "exactly the opposite".
He blamed the media for creating that impression, despite the fact he made numerous public statements critical of intelligence officials.
"There is nobody that feels stronger about the intelligence community and CIA than Donald Trump. There's nobody," he said.
Trump criticises media coverage of Inauguration Day
The 45th President's inauguration was shadowed by news reports that the CIA and other federal agencies were investigating Russian interference in the presidential election on behalf of Mr Trump.
FBI director James Comey declined to confirm or describe the nature of the Government's investigation, both during a congressional hearing and in closed-door meetings with members of Congress.
Mr Trump quickly shifted from praise for the CIA to criticism of media coverage of Inauguration Day, in an unscripted speech that addressed the size of the crowd that gathered on the National Mall as he took the oath of office.
Mr Trump said throngs "went all the way back to the Washington monument", but photos and live video showed the crowd stopping well short of the landmark.
His media criticism came as he stood in front of a memorial honouring CIA officers killed while serving the US.
AP
Topics: defence-and-national-security, security-intelligence, government-and-politics, united-states
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