President Trump has repeatedly dismissed Russia's meddling in the 2016 election. The Washington Post reported on Thursday that during the transition period, advisers held “impromptu interventions,” urging Trump to acknowledge the interference as fact.


President Trump has repeatedly dismissed Russia's meddling in the 2016 election. 
The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing inside sources, that during the transition period, a group of advisers that included Jared Kushner and Reince Priebus held "impromptu interventions," urging Trump to acknowledge the interference as fact.
The publication notes that those individuals "sought to convince Trump that he could affirm the validity of the intelligence without diminishing his electoral win."
The efforts are said to have happened in January and not long after U.S. intelligence agencies presented the then president-elect with evidence of Russia's attempts to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential race. 
An intelligence report released to the public said, in part, "we assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election." 
"Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency," the report also noted. "We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments."
Notably, Trump has doubted the intelligence and has been rather consistent in downplaying Russia's interference in the election.
He has also stated, "Every time [Putin] sees me, he says, 'I didn't do that.' And I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it."