Donald Trump Casts Doubt on Intelligence Community Over ‘So-Called’ Russian Hacking

Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Donald Trump continues to remain indignant about claims that Russia is responsible for cyberassaults on the US, taking to Twitter Tuesday night to reiterate his skepticism.

In a single tweet, Trump questioned the prevailing notion that Russia has been hacking US entities — despite 17 U.S. intelligence agencies concluding that top Russian officials helped orchestrate cyberattacks against the Democratic National Committee and members of Hillary Clinton’s campaign — and he also seemed to question the validity of such agencies overall.

The president-elect tweeted, “The ‘Intelligence’ briefing on so-called ‘Russian hacking’ was delayed until Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange!”

The “Intelligence” briefing on so-called “Russian hacking” was delayed until Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2017

Just last week, a joint FBI-Department of Homeland Security 13-page report linked the Russian government to hacks of Democratic organizations

Trump’s skepticism is nothing new. On New Year’s Eve, he expressed a lack of confidence in intelligence officials’ findings.

“Well, I just want them to be sure, because it’s a pretty serious charge, and I want them to be sure. And if you look at the weapons of mass destruction, that was a disaster, and they were wrong,” Trump said, when asked why he seems to doubt the intelligence analysis that Russia is behind the hacking, referring to the intelligence cited about Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction leading up to the Iraq War.

“And so I want them to be sure. I think it’s unfair if they don’t know,” he added. “And I know a lot about hacking. And hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So it could be somebody else. And I also know things that other people don’t know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation.” 

Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

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