President-elect Donald Trump, in an exclusive interview with “Fox News Sunday,” decried as “ridiculous” the CIA’s reported assessment that Russia intervened in the election to boost his candidacy – describing the assessment as another “excuse” pushed by Democrats to explain his upset victory.
“It's just another excuse. I don't believe it,” Trump said. “… Every week it's another excuse. We had a massive landslide victory, as you know, in the Electoral College.”
Trump spoke with Fox News’ Chris Wallace in the president-elect’s first Sunday show interview since winning the election.
He spoke at length about his Cabinet selection process, defending his decision to tap several military generals while previewing an announcement soon on his secretary of state choice. He vowed as well to “clean” up and “speed” up government agencies, without necessarily dismantling President Obama’s legacy.
But while staying careful not to personally criticize the sitting president over his intelligence agencies’ analysis on foreign cyber-interference in the election, Trump made clear he rejects their assessment so far.
“Nobody really knows, and hacking is very interesting. Once they hack, if you don't catch them in the act you're not going to catch them,” he said. “They have no idea if it's Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed some place.”
Trump was responding to a Washington Post report that the CIA concluded in a secret assessment that Russia interfered in the race to boost Trump, not just undermine confidence in the system.
Intelligence agencies reportedly found individuals connected to the Russian government gave WikiLeaks hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee, as well as from Hillary Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta – though did not have “specific intelligence” showing Kremlin officials directed the activity.
The assessment was shared with key senators.
Shortly before the interview with Trump aired on Sunday, a bipartisan group of senators described the Russia interference reports as serious.
“For years, foreign adversaries have directed cyberattacks at America’s physical, economic, and military infrastructure, while stealing our intellectual property. Now our democratic institutions have been targeted. Recent reports of Russian interference in our election should alarm every American,” Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a statement.
“… Democrats and Republicans must work together, and across the jurisdictional lines of the Congress, to examine these recent incidents thoroughly and devise comprehensive solutions to deter and defend against further cyberattacks. This cannot become a partisan issue. The stakes are too high for our country.”
Amid the CIA findings, the White House also confirmed Friday that President Obama has ordered his intelligence agencies to conduct a full review of hacking during the 2016 election and present their findings before he leaves office.
Trump’s transition team responded by saying the election “ended a long time ago” and “it’s now time to move on.”
WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange also has previously said the Russian government was not the source.
Trump and his supporters point to ambiguity inside intelligence and law enforcement agencies in arguing that Russia’s role is not clear.
Indeed, the Post later reported that while the CIA pointed to Russia, a senior FBI official suggested to lawmakers that the agency and bureau were not on the same page on the matter.
Speaking with “Fox News Sunday,” Trump said “there’s great confusion.”
He went so far as to assert, “Democrats are putting it out because they suffered one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics in this country.”
Trump said the efforts could be political, adding Democrats are “very embarrassed.”
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