Jan 6, 2017:
http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/us/politics/donald-trump-wall-hack-russia.html
http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/313108-declassified-report-putin-ordered-election-interference-to-help
http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/313089-trump-after-briefing-hacking-did-not-impact-election-outcome
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/313159-trump-dncs-gross-negligence-allowed-hacking
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/06/us/politics/document-russia-hacking-report-intelligence-agencies.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/07/world/europe/russians-ridicule-us-charge-that-kremlin-meddled-to-help-trump.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/07/world/europe/russias-rt-the-network-implicated-in-us-election-meddling.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/us/politics/russian-hacking-election-intelligence.html
Jan 5, 2017:
Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr., Admiral Mike Rogers (commander of the U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency), and Defense Undersecretary for Intelligence Marcel J. Lettre II testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee (chaired by U.S. Senator John McCain) about foreign cyberthreats.
Russian hacking in spotlight: Live coverage of hearing | The Hill
U.S. spy chief 'resolute' on Russia cyber attack, differs with Trump | Reuters
Dec 29, 2016:
In a statement entitled "Statement by the President on Actions in Response to Russian Malicious Cyber Activity and Harassment" President Obama issued an executive order "...that provides additional authority for responding to certain cyber activity that seeks to interfere with or undermine our election processes and institutions, or those of our allies or partners."
Using this executive order, the Obama administration took the following actions:
- sanctioned the GRU and the FSB Russian intelligence services
- sanctioned four individual officers of the GRU
- sanctioned three companies that provided material support to the GRU's cyber operations
- the Secretary of the Treasury is designating two Russian individuals for using cyber-enabled means to cause misappropriation of funds and personal identifying information
- the State Department is shutting down two Russian compounds (in Maryland and New York)
- is ejecting 35 suspected Russian intelligence operatives from the United States
- the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are releasing declassified technical information to help network defenders in the United States and abroad identify, detect, and disrupt Russia's global campaign of malicious cyber activities
Get more detailed information about these actions here.
Obama Strikes Back at Russia for Election Hacking | The New York Times
Dec 16, 2016:
An NBC News article entitled "Kremlin Calls NBC Report Putin Directed Hack 'Laughable Nonsense'" reported that "Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the AP the report was 'laughable nonsense.'"
A Washington Post article entitled "FBI in agreement with CIA that Russia aimed to help Trump win White House" reported that earlier this week, CIA Director John Brennan met separately with FBI Director James Comey and DNI Jim Clapper, and that "there is strong consensus among us on the scope, nature, and intent of Russian interference in our presidential election". The "consensus" Brennan refers to implies that the difference of opinion between the CIA and FBI expressed on December 10 is not nearly as great as was thought at that time.
North Carolina Senator Richard Burr, the Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman, announced a bullet-pointed plan of action for his committee to investigate Russian cyber attacks and how they may have influenced the 2016 presidential election.
Senate Intelligence Committee vows thorough review of Russian meddling | The Hill
Yesterday, President Obama was interviewed by NPR's Steve Inskeep on the subject of Russia hacking.
During the interview, Obama did not endorse a CIA conclusion that Russia's goal was to elect Trump.
Here are a few Obama quotes from the interview:
I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action. And we will — at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be.
...what the Russian hack had done was create more problems for the Clinton campaign than it had for the Trump campaign.
There's no doubt that it [Russian hacking] contributed to an atmosphere in which the only focus for weeks at a time, months at a time were Hillary's emails, the Clinton Foundation, political gossip surrounding the DNC.
Elections can always turn out differently. You never know which factors are going to make a difference. But I have no doubt that it had some impact, just based on the coverage.
Watch the interview here.
Source:
Detrow, Scott. (December 15, 2016). "Obama On Russian Hacking: 'We Need To Take Action. And We Will'". NPR. Retrieved 2016-12-17.
Dec 15, 2016:
An NBC News article entitled "U.S. Officials: Putin Personally Involved in U.S. Election Hack" reported that U.S. senior intelligence officials have a "a high level of confidence" that Russian President Vladimir Putin was personally involved in the covert Russian campaign to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
White House: Trump knew Russia was behind hacks before Election Day | The Hill
Dec 12, 2016:
Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan expressed their support for an investigation into possible Russian cyber attacks which may have influenced the 2016 presidential election.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the findings of the CIA should be investigated by the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee and not by a special committee as has been suggested by other lawmakers like John McCain.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham will head a subcommittee under the Armed Services Committee to investigate the attacks.
The House Intelligence Committee, chaired by Representative Devin Nunes (a member of the Trump transition team), is also conducting an investigation.
President-elect Donald Trump spokesman Jason Miller said the issue of Russian election hacking and a possible investigation is nothing more than the bitterness of Trump's opponents and their attempt to delegitimize Trump's win.
Senate and House Leaders Call for Inquiry of Russian Hacking in Election | The New York Times
McConnell rejects special panel for Russian election interference allegations | The Hill
Ten Electoral College electors asked U.S. intelligence officials for more information on the ongoing investigations.
Electors want briefing on Russian interference | The Hill
Electors Call for Intelligence Briefing on Russian Hacking Allegations | ABC News
Trump condemns CIA's Russia hacking report | BBC
Dec 11, 2016:
Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press, former U.S. ambassador to Russia (2012-2014) Michael McFaul said he thinks Russia interfered in the U.S. elections to get revenge against Hillary Clinton because Putin thinks Clinton interfered in his December 2011 parliamentary election. McFaul also said that Putin may have been motivated to interfere because Trump and Putin support many of the same policies.
Former ambassador to Russia: Putin wanted 'revenge' against Clinton | The Hill
Donald Trump called the CIA's conclusion "ridiculous" and "just another excuse" for his presidential victory.
Donald Trump says CIA charge Russia influenced election is 'ridiculous' | The Guardian
Trump's Criticism of Russia Hacking Claim Could Haunt Him | ABC News
Donald Trump Fuels Rift With CIA Over Russian Hack | The Wall Street Journal
Dec 10, 2016:
An article in The Washington Post entitled "FBI and CIA give differing accounts to lawmakers on Russia’s motives in 2016 hacks" reported that in a House Intelligence Committee meeting which included a "senior FBI counterintelligence official" (held shortly after a recent Senate Intelligence Committee meeting with the CIA), the FBI official indicated that the FBI was not as sure as the CIA in terms of possible intervention by Russia in the 2016 election.
Exclusive: Top U.S. spy agency has not embraced CIA assessment on Russia hacking - sources | Reuters
Dec 9, 2016:
An article in The Washington Post entitled "Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House" reported that in a "secret assessment" the CIA has concluded that Russia intervened to help Trump win the 2016 election.
President Obama ordered the U.S. Intelligence Community to conduct a full review of possible election hacking, going back as far as the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Obama said he wants the review completed before the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, 2017.
Obama orders review of Russian election-related hacking | CNN
Obama orders review of 2016 election cyber attacks | Reuters
Oct 19, 2016:
During the final presidential debate, Hilary Clinton said the following:
We have 17 intelligence agencies, civilian and military, who have all concluded that these espionage attacks, these cyberattacks, come from the highest levels of the Kremlin, and they are designed to influence our election.
During that same presidential debate, Donald Trump said the cyber attacks could have come from "Russia, China or anybody else".
Source:
Carroll, Lauren. (October 19, 2016). "Hillary Clinton blames high-up Russians for WikiLeaks releases". Politifact. Retrieved 2016-12-17.
Oct 7, 2016:
The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) issued a joint statement entitled "Joint Statement from the Department Of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security" which stated the following:
The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations. The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts. These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process. Such activity is not new to Moscow—the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there. We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.
Sep 5, 2016:
An article in The Washington Post entitled "U.S. investigating potential covert Russian plan to disrupt November elections" reported that the U.S. Intelligence Community is investigating a possible "broad covert Russian operation in the United States" to influence the 2016 presidential election and U.S. political institutions.
More:
- Pants on Fire! Trump tweet about White House, Russian hacking probe | Politifact
- Obama Says U.S. Will Retaliate for Russia's Election Meddling | The New York Times
- Electoral College must delay, or else Putin picks the next US president | The Hill
- The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S. | The New York Times