*By Conor White*
FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday contradicted claims by President Trump, the man who appointed him to the position, that Russia is no longer targeting the United States with cyberattacks.
At the Aspen Security Forum Wray remarked, "The intelligence community’s assessment has not changed, my view has not changedーwhich is that Russia attempted to interfere with the last election and continues to engage in malign influence operations to this day."
For Reason.com reporter Eric Boehm, Trump's repeated denial of Russia's activities can only mean one thing.
"The President clearly has personal interests, or some sort of interests, that are separate from what the U.S. intelligence community has when it comes to Russia," he told Cheddar on Thursday.
During a briefing this week, Trump denied that Russia poses any threat to Americans, simply responding "no" when asked about the danger.
Boehm explained that Trump may have reason to doubt American intelligence agenciesーbut that still doesn't explain his unwavering defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"It's possible to believe that well, maybe we should trust everything that the head of the \[Office of the Director of National Intelligence\] or the director of the CIA or the head of the FBI tells us," he said. "At the same time Trump's behavior still doesn't really make sense."
For the full segment, [click here.]( https://cheddar.com/videos/trump-contradicts-fbi-director-on-russian-meddling)
Asa Hutchinson, who recently completed two terms as Arkansas governor, said Sunday he will seek the Republican presidential nomination, positioning himself as an alternative to Donald Trump just days after the former president was indicted by a grand jury in New York.
Prosecutors say Donald Trump conspired to undermine the 2016 election through a series of hush money payments designed to stifle claims that could be harmful to his candidacy.
He is expected to be joined in Florida by supporters as he tries to project an image of strength and defiance and turn the charges into a political asset to boost his 2024 presidential campaign.
Board members picked by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee the governance of Walt Disney World said Wednesday that their Disney-controlled predecessors pulled a fast one on them by passing restrictive covenants that strip the new board of many of its powers.
The federal government has filed a lawsuit against railroad Norfolk Southern over environmental damage caused by a train derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border that spilled hazardous chemicals.
The charges in the indictment, made by a Manhattan grand jury, center on payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter.
