President Donald Trump seemed obsessed with the Russia probe, DNI Dan Coats told a House panel on Thursday, and the president asked him repeatedly to say publicly that no Russian collusion occurred during the election, according to news reports.
Coats' testimony before the House Intelligence Committee earlier Thursday was disclosed to NBC News by a "U.S. official familiar with the conversation."
The information tracked with similar disclosures NSA Director Mike Rogers has reportedly made to associates, according to the report.
Both Rogers and Coats "declined to do that, saying it would have been inappropriate," according to a former top intelligence official quoted by NBC.
"Rogers had his deputy write a memo about the conversation," the report says.
Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Trump's requests to Coats and Rogers as part of his inquiry into whether the president obstructed justice regarding Russia's election meddling, NBC reported.
Coats and Rogers declined to answer questions about their discussions with President Trump during public testimony earlier this month before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
They also refused to confirm or deny accusations that the president had asked them to state publicly that they saw no evidence of collusion with Russia by the Trump campaign.
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