Russia meddling in U.S. elections again: source

U.S. intelligence officials warned lawmakers last week that Russia is meddling in U.S. elections yet again.

That's according to a source who spoke to Reuters.

A week later, U.S. President Donald Trump replaced his head of intelligence.

And according to a Thursday New York Times report, the disclosure angered Trump, who berated Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire a day later.

The Times' sources say he rebuked Maguire for allowing his staff to appear at the briefing.

Their report quoted five people familiar with the matter.

That -- was last week.

On Wednesday (February 19), Trump said he was replacing Maguire on an acting basis with Richard Grenell, a fervent Trump loyalist.

Last week's classified briefing was given to the House Intelligence Committee, a group led by Democrats.

Intelligence officials said Russia wanted to cast doubt on the integrity of the 2020 election while boosting Trump's chances at a second term.

The Reuters source said Trump Republican allies were quick to challenge the idea of fresh Russian meddling.

Committee Republicans and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has declined to comment.

U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Russia used fake news and cyber attacks to help Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

Moscow denies the allegation and Trump himself has continued to dismiss the finding and deny any campaign collusion with Russia.