What did Donald Trump do today?

He tried to muddy the waters on Russian election interference even more.

Speaking to reporters today, Trump again claimed that he hadn't been told about Russian efforts to interfere in the 2020 election—an obvious lie that his own staff has already contradicted.

Q: Have you been briefed that Russia is trying to help Bernie Sanders?  And if so, what’s your message to Putin?  Are you comfortable with him intervening?

TRUMP:  Nobody said it.  I read where Russia is helping Bernie Sanders.  Nobody said it to me at all.  Nobody briefed me about that at all.  What they try and do is — certain people like certain people to have information.  No different than it’s been. 

But I have not been briefed on that at all.  Nobody told me about it.  They leaked it.  Adam Schiff and his group — they leaked it to the papers and — as usual.  They ought to investigate Adam Schiff for leaking that information.  He should not be leaking information out of intelligence.  They ought to investigate Adam Schiff.

The idea that Trump, who is President of the United States, hadn't been told about this is ridiculous. Not only did Trump fire his Director of National Intelligence last week for telling Congress about this ongoing attack, but intelligence officials have already confirmed to reporters that he was aware.

Nobody other than Trump has suggested that Rep. Schiff leaked the findings. For once, though, Trump himself isn't a suspect: his own tweets about the election match up exactly with what U.S. intelligence officials have found about the Russian disinformation campaign that Trump has been trying so hard to keep secret.

Why should I care about this?

• It's wrong to lie to the American public, especially about things that are this important.

• Presidents who don't want to look like hostile foreign governments are pulling on their strings should start by not doing and saying exactly what those foreign governments want.