from your CNN link: “Mike Rogers described their interactions with the President about the Russia investigation as odd and uncomfortable, but said they did not believe the President gave them orders to interfere,”
I listened to Jeh Johnson’s testimony and he was pretty firm that as of his last day, there was no evidence within DHS of any collusion or cooperation between Trump and Russia. Clapper said mostly the same, yes?
so why would Trump asking Rogers or Coats to confirm publically, make them ‘feel odd’ or ‘uncomfortable’ in any way ? Or, why wouldn’t they say, we’re fine with that except for maybe the Flynn thing, or, except ‘xyz’?
Because it would conflict with the drum Comey was beating? Or because the Intel community thinks they are a separate and equal branch of government and how dare anyone question them?
I can't think of any occasion, ever, where a president asked the head of NSA or CIA to render a public opinion about a specific case or absence of a specific case. So, in that sense, it not only would make them feel odd, it is in fact odd.
The NSA and CIA are fundamentally "information departments," more like a "help desk" than a consumer of information.
The press wants the reader to jump to the conclusion that the request is asking them to do something wrong, lie, or otherwise act unethically. The fact of the matter is, the request was odd the same way asking your auto-mechanic to babysit is odd. The request asks them to go far afield from their role.