Top intelligence officials and senators from both parties Thursday reaffirmed their conclusion that the Russian government used hacking and leaks to try to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Among them was Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr., who told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Russia meddled in the U.S. election through hacking, propaganda and fake news.
Clapper said that Moscow’s cyber assault on the election went beyond interference and into “activism.”
And The Washington Post reported Friday morning that some of the intelligence-intercepted messages showed senior officials in the Russian government celebrated Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton as a geopolitical win for Moscow and congratulated themselves on the outcome.
Of course, that intelligence about Russian hacking and influence is something that President-elect Donald Trump keeps trying to run away from.