The top American spy agency isn’t embracing the Central Intelligence Agency’s assessment that the Russian government tried to elect Donald Trump by hacking into Democratic offices.
Reuters reported Tuesday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence doesn’t dispute that the Russians are responsible for hacking the Democratic National Committee and top Hillary Clinton campaign officials. However, it doesn’t agree with the CIA’s report that the hacking was done with the intent to elect Trump.
“ODNI is not arguing that the agency (CIA) is wrong, only that they can’t prove intent,” said one of three U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters. “Of course they can’t, absent agents in on the decision-making in Moscow.”
Russian involvement in hacking during the election has been the major story this week following the release of a report sourcing unnamed officials that said Russia wanted Trump in the White House and used hacking to help achieve that goal.
President-elect Trump summarily dismissed the report and subsequently said he was skeptical that Russia hacked the DNC or Clinton campaign director John Podesta’s emails at all. Trump believes the intelligence community doesn’t know who’s responsible, and has said it could be anybody.
However, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper reported before the election that it was the consensus view of the intelligence community that Russia was behind the hacking.
Senior senators like Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and incoming Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have all called for an independent congressional investigation into Russia’s activities.
