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Former Intelligence Director: Russia Is The 'New England Patriots Of Messing With Elections'

WASHINGTON (CBS) -- A former top intelligence official paid the New England Patriots a very high compliment (we think) when talking about a serious subject - election security.

CBS Evening News anchor Norah O'Donnell sat down with Dan Coats, a former Republican senator from Indiana who served as President Donald Trump's first Director of National Intelligence.

Coats said that when it comes to foreign countries meddling in U.S. politics, he's most concerned about Russia during what he's calling the Super Bowl of elections this year. The intelligence community concluded in 2017 that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a campaign involving covert intelligence operations and overt propaganda to undermine faith in the 2016 U.S. election.

"They're the New England Patriots of messing with elections. I think they do it better than anybody else," Coats said.

A nod to the Pats' two decades of dominance and six Super Bowl titles? Or maybe a dig at the team's "evil empire" reputation and a reference to "Spygate" and various other Foxboro scandals?

Click here for the full interview with Coats.

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