A bipartisan group of leading Senators is calling for an investigation into the CIA’s assessment that Russia played a role in helping Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. That’s as the president-elect continues to dismiss the findings as a partisan attack. Our Washington, D.C. bureau reporter Geoff Bennett has the story.
President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview which aired on Fox News Sunday that it is "ridiculous” to believe the CIA's assessment that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 election on his behalf.
“I think it’s ridiculous," Trump said. "I think it’s just another excuse. I don’t believe it. I don’t know why and I think it’s just ― you know, they talked about all sorts of things. Every week it’s another excuse."
Monday morning, the president-elect doubled down on his dismissal, tweeting: "Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory!” and “Unless you catch 'hackers' in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election?”
But the U.S. intelligence community did point the finger at Russia before the election, and Trump was reportedly personally briefed on Russia's role in the hacks by U.S. officials in August.
According toThe New York Times, the CIA thinks Russia broke into Republican National Committee computer networks just as they had broken into Democratic ones, but released information only on the Democrats.
Leading Senators Call for Congressional Probe
Now, a group influential senators from both parties is calling for Congress to take a closer look at the intelligence community's findings.
“The idea that foreign governments particularly Putin and Russia may be actually trying to influence our elections is a frightening thought," Schumer told reporters Monday.
On Capitol Hill, the stage is set for hearings to begin next year on Russia's interference in the presidential election. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he supports a full congressional investigation.
"This simply cannot be a partisan issue," McConnell said during a Monday news conference.
The Obama administration is also launching a full review into the cyberattacks. That investigation could result in a report just as Trump takes office.
Trump, meanwhile, refuses to accept the consensus of U.S. intelligence agencies about Russia's interference in the election out of an apparent fear that it may undercut the legitimacy of his victory.