By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security team said on Thursday that Russia is behind “pervasive” attempts to interfere in upcoming U.S. elections, in a rejection of denials of meddling that Russian President Vladimir Putin made directly to Trump. The top aides, including intelligence director Dan Coats and national security adviser John Bolton, appeared in the White House briefing room to stress that a major effort was under way to protect the integrity of congressional elections in November and the 2020 presidential election.
