The head of national counterintelligence, William Evanina, appeared to be tempering an assessment delivered to lawmakers in the House last month that Russia had developed a “preference” for President Trump — an assessment that angered the president when he was told that it had been given to lawmakers, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the sessions were classified.

Evanina told senators that the Russians “continue to be broadly engaged in social media activities designed to divide us further, to discredit our electoral system and to disrupt our election,” said one official present at the all-members meeting.

In the Senate, Evanina’s carefully worded answer came in response to the first question asked — by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) — and “felt orchestrated,” said a second official, who was briefed on the meeting. “Both question and response were clearly pre-drafted.”