Trump says 'no reason to believe' Russia hacked U.S. election

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By Jeff Mason and Denis Pinchuk

HELSINKI (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he saw no reason to believe Russia had hacked the 2016 U.S. presidential election to help him win, and Vladimir Putin “was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today”.

At a rambling news conference after a one-on-one meeting with the Russian president, Trump said not a single critical word about Russia on any of the issues that have brought relations between the Washington and Moscow to a post-Cold War low.

Asked if he trusted U.S. intelligence agencies which concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, he said he had been told by his CIA chief that it was Russia, but that he saw no reason to believe it.

“President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today,” Trump said.

: U.S. President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto his wife Jenni Haukio pose for a photo in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

: U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton and Robert Frank Pence Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of Finland participate in a breakfast with Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

: U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin shake hands as they meet in Helsinki, Finland July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

: U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin (not pictured) after their meeting in Helsinki, Finland July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor

: U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold a joint news conference after their meeting in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

: U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands as they hold a joint news conference after their meeting in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

: U.S. President Donald Trump throws a football to U.S. First Lady Melania Trump during a joint news conference with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin after their meeting in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

: U.S. President Donald Trump receives a football from Russian President Vladimir Putin as they hold a joint news conference after their meeting in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

: U.S. President Donald Trump receives a football from Russian President Vladimir Putin as they hold a joint news conference after their meeting in Helsinki, Finland July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor

(Additonal reporting by Steve Holland, Jussi Rosendahl and Andrew Osborn in Helsinki and by Christian Lowe and Polina Devitt in Moscow; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Angus MacSwan)