Trump rejects intel, lawmakers vow probe of Russia hacking

President-elect Donald Trump blasted the American intelligence community Sunday, calling its assessment that Russian Federation interfered in the election “ridiculous”.

A bipartisan group of four senators is calling for Congress to take a closer look at allegations that Russian Federation used cyberattacks to try to influence the American election in favor of Donald Trump.

He then says, directly facing toward the cameras: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing”. And yet, Reid noted, Comey did not release more information about possible Russian involvement in the election. President-elect Trump’s dismissive and politically insecure reaction is not only childish, it’s unsafe.

But then, earlier this month, the Central Intelligence Agency announced to a group of top United States senators its latest finding: that Russia’s hacks were aimed at helping Trump.

A senior USA intelligence official told Reuters that intelligence agencies had concluded with “high confidence” that not only did their Russian counterparts direct the hacking of Democratic Party organizations and leaders, but did so to undermine Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. “Exhibit #1 in the fake news”.

The President-elect and his transition team have been quick to rebuff the new intelligence assessment and dismiss out of hand any concerns about Russian influence in the election.

Another possibility for the apparent difference in views on the Russian hacks is that the CIA or another intelligence agency has obtained information tying Russian actors to the hacking and the motivations for it through sensitive sources and methods the agency does not want to share widely, even with its USA partners.

On Sunday, CNN media analyst Brian Stelter wondered concerning Trump’s election: “Is this something of a national emergency?”

“I think it is just another excuse”. “I don’t believe it”. “I know I am at the Democrat Party”. “I don’t believe it”, he said in the interview with ” Fox News Sunday”. They also question whether he would apply diplomatic pressure on Russia’s conflict with Ukraine. “It could be someone sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds”. “I mean, they have no idea”, Trump said.

President Barack Obama has ordered a full-scale review of campaign-season cyberattacks to be completed before he leaves office in January.

Trump also made remarks that might interest US military allies – disparaging the F-35 fighter-jet program.

The entire country is now enmeshed in a story that seems to perfectly correspond with the state of politics and the national mood: tense, paranoid, zero-sum and subjective.

“I don’t think anybody knows it was Russian Federation that broke into the DNC. But if you’re going to do that, I think you should not just say ‘Russia.’ You should say other countries also, and maybe other individuals”. “We’re co-equal branches of government”. But Trump probably calculates he can get away with flouting the facts – and continue his bromance with Putin – because the White House has neither made public what it knows about the Russian hacking nor adopted any punitive measures. He claims that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was called in after the DNC hack and found no evidence of hacking in the RNC’s computer system.

Now, even when presented with more concrete reports, his team is doubling down on its refusal to accept the intelligence agencies’ reports.

During the second presidential debate, Trump questions whether Russian Federation is behind the hacks and suggests “maybe there is no hacking”. Lindsey Graham to chair a subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services to investigate the Russian interference, “along with a really smart Democrat”. Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt sits on that committee.

The House Intelligence Committee has been following cyber threats by foreign governments and terrorist organizations throughout the election, and committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R- Calif.) said in a statement his committee would closely oversee the report requested by Obama.

“The RNC was absolutely not hacked”, incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said on NBC’s Meet the Press.

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said Trump would not interfere with any congressional inquiry but that the president-elect regarded the spate of hacking reports as part of an effort to relitigate the election. The Washington Post first reported.

The campaign of Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton jumped on the bandwagon Monday, as Clinton spokesman John Podesta said: “The bipartisan electors’ letter raises very grave issues involving our national security”.