U.S. President-elect Donald Trump fired a new broadside Monday against the Central Intelligence Agency conclusion that Russia interfered in the presidential election to help him win, questioning why the claim wasn’t made before last month’s voting.
In a pair of comments on Twitter, Trump contended that if Democrat Hillary Clinton had won the election and Republicans “tried to play the Russia/CIA card, it would be called conspiracy theory.”
He added, “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?”
Trump’s latest remarks came after he told Fox News in an interview aired Sunday that the CIA conclusion about Russian cyberattacks to boost his chances of winning was “ridiculous,” calling it “just another excuse” by Democrats for his stunning upset of Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state.
“I don’t believe it. If you take a look at what (the CIA) said, there’s great confusion,” Trump said Sunday. “Nobody really knows. They have no idea if it’s Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed someplace.”
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Bipartisan call for probe
Even before he assumes power next month, Trump’s mocking of the CIA conclusion about Russian interference on his behalf puts him at odds with key U.S. lawmakers, including Republicans, who are calling for a congressional investigation into Moscow’s hacking linked to the election. Among those calling for the probe is Arizona Senator John McCain, the losing 2008 Republican presidential contender.
WATCH: McConnell on Russia hacking
Trump told Fox News that he does not oppose President Barack Obama’s order to review cyberattacks the CIA concluded came from Russia during the lengthy presidential campaign, but said “you should not just say ‘Russia.’ You should say other countries also, and maybe other individuals.” The CIA said it had “high confidence” that Russia sought to help Trump win.
U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded Russia interfered in the final stretch of the presidential campaign to help Trump win the presidency, and not simply meddle in the U.S. electoral process as previously believed, according to senior Obama administration officials. The conclusion is based to some extent on a finding that Russians hacked the Republican National Committee’s computer systems, in addition to those of Democratic organizations, but disclosed only embarrassing emails from the Democrats, via WikiLeaks.
Reince Priebus, the head of the Republican National Committee and Trump’s pick for White House chief of staff, told ABC News the party was not hacked.
“The entire report is based on unnamed sources who are perhaps doing something they shouldn’t be doing by speaking to reporters or someone talking out of line about something that is absolutely not true,” Priebus said Sunday.
Trump’s rejection of the CIA conclusion came as McCain and three other senators called for an investigation into Moscow’s interference in the election, saying that it “should alarm every American.” McCain, along with Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrats Jack Reed and Chuck Schumer said the United States needs to stop “the grave threats that cyberattacks conducted by foreign governments pose to our national security.”
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Rex W. Tillerson, chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation at their meeting in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Monday, April 16, 2012. w
Reservations about top diplomat pick
Any investigation of Russia’s interference in the election could complicate Senate confirmation for ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson, Trump’s likely pick as the country’s secretary of state.
In the Fox interview, Trump praised Tillerson for the contacts he has across the world and the oil deals he’s made with Russia. But McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham voiced concern about the selection of the 64-year-old Tillerson and his connections with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump aides say the president-elect has settled on Tillerson as the top U.S. diplomat after a month-long search, although no announcement has been made. Trump, while not confirming the appointment, said Tillerson has the “great advantage” that he knows many world leaders across the globe and “knows them well.”
But his longstanding support for free trade and an expansive presence in the Middle East are at odds with positions Trump took during the long U.S. presidential campaign.
“He’s much more than a business executive,” Trump said. “He’s a world class player. He’s in charge of an oil company that pretty much doubled the size of his next nearest competitor. He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals for the company, not for himself, for the company.”
McCain said the choice of Tillerson was “a matter of concern to me.”
“You want to give the president of the United States the benefit of the doubt because the people have spoken,” McCain said of the election. “But Vladimir Putin is a thug, a bully and a murderer, and anybody else who describes him as anything else is lying.”
After Tillerson’s oil agreements with Russia, the Kremlin in 2013 awarded him the Order of Friendship, an honor reserved for foreigners. Tillerson’s appointment would have to be confirmed by the Senate, and Graham said that with his award from Russia, “We’ll have some questions. I don’t want to prejudge the guy, but that’s a bit unnerving.”
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