HAPPENING TODAY: It’s hacking day on Capitol Hill. Both the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee are holding hearings about cyber threats to the U.S. and will focus on recent reports of Russian hacking from the intelligence community. The Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, head of U.S. Cyber Command Adm. Michael Rogers and Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Marcel Lettre are up first at 9:30 a.m., at SASC, then State Department officials speak later at a closed Foreign Relations Committee session. Rep. Michael McCaul and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse also unveil a new Center for Strategic and International Studies report on cyber priorities for the next administration at 10 a.m. The report can be viewed online here.
WHO DO YOU BELIEVE? At this point, President-elect Trump is giving more credibility to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Vladimir Putin, who deny Russian involvement in the hacking of the gmail account of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta than to the U.S. intelligence community. Assange, in an interview on Fox, adamantly denied Russia, or any state for that matter, provided the email trove to the anti-privacy website. Asked by Sean Hannity point blank: “Can you tell the American people 1,000 percent you did not get it from Russia … or anybody associated with Russia,” Assange said, “Yes, we can say and we have said repeatedly over the last two months, that our source is not the Russian government and it is not a state party.” On MSNBC, Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said Assange should be taken at his word and that his statements amounted to a “bombshell,” while on CNN Sen. Lindsey Graham denounced Assange as an enemy of the state. “This was done by the Russians, and I hope by Friday, President-elect Trump will come to that realization and ignore Mr. Assange,” Graham said. “Not only should he ignore Julian Assange, he should condemn him for what he’s done to our country, putting our soldiers at risk, putting our foreign policy at risk. Julian Assange is no friend of America and he’s no friend of Democracy.”
Trump’s embrace of Assange clearly unnerved many top Republicans. House Speaker Paul Ryan called Assange “a sycophant for Russia.” “He leaks, he steals data and compromises national security.” Sen. Tom Cotton said “I have a lot more faith in our intelligence officers serving around the world and their experiences than I do in Julian Assange, I’ll tell you that much.”
Rep. Devin Nunes, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, meanwhile said there’s a danger in Trump trying to cozy up to Putin. “My advice to them has been, that, you know, many good people have tried. We’d like to see it happen, we’ll see if President-elect Trump has any luck, but put me in the pessimistic category. I just think it’s going to be tough to get anything done with Putin, but he’ll try,” he told David M. Drucker in an episode of the Washington Examiner’s “Examining Politics” podcast that will air on Thursday.
Vice President-elect Mike Pence, meanwhile, said Trump’s frequent use of air quotes and real quotes to refer to the intelligence community shows merely a “healthy skepticism,” not the contempt that many read into his comments, Susan Ferrechio writes. “We’ll be looking at the facts and the information,” Pence told reporters. “Given some of the intelligence failures in recent years, the president-elect made it clear he is skeptical of the conclusions.”
TWO OBVIOUS QUESTIONS: How would Assange even know if Russia was the ultimate source of the Podesta emails and simply passed them to WikiLeaks through an intermediary? All Assange can know for sure, assuming he is telling the truth, is who gave WikiLeaks the emails, but he would have no way of knowing for certain who gave the email to his source. Plus, WikiLeaks advertises itself as a publisher of information submitted anonymously. And BuzzFeed News raises an interesting question. The Democratic National Committee said the FBI “never requested access” to the servers the White House and intelligence community say were hacked by Russia. Why not?
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RETHINKING SPY OPS: The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump is considering a plan to shake up the nation’s top spy agencies. Citing “people familiar with the planning” the paper says the idea is “prompted by his belief that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has become bloated and politicized.” One proposal would restructure the CIA, cutting staff at its Langley headquarters and putting spies out into field posts around the world. Tomorrow, Trump gets his personal briefing on the alleged Russian hacks from DNI Director James Clapper, who fired Lt. Gen Michael Flynn from his post as the Pentagon’s top intelligence officer, after Flynn clashed with his bosses. Flynn is now the President-elect’s incoming national security adviser.
THE NEXT DNI? Former Indiana Sen. Dan Coats has reportedly emerged as the leading contender for director of national intelligence in the next administration. Coats, a Republican, was spotted at Trump Tower shortly after the president-elect’s victory in November, though told reporters at the time he was simply there to lend Trump advice.
MATTIS MAKES THE ROUNDS: Retired Gen. Jim Mattis continued his one-on-one meetings with Senate Armed Services Committee members on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, including with one of the only lawmakers not supporting his nomination, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. While the New York Democrat praised him for his service following a 45-minute meeting, she said she will not support a waiver that allows him to serve as defense secretary so soon after leaving the military because civilian control of the military is “fundamental to the American democracy.”
A PRICEY PROPOSAL: Trump’s calls for the Navy to grow to 350 ships could cost $25 billion per year in the shipbuilding account alone, according to a Congressional Budget Office report. That’s about $9 billion more per year than the Navy has spent on average over the past three decades.
FULL SPEED AHEAD: Several reports out last night say the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer has signed off on the $126 billion Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine that will eventually replace the aging Ohio-class boomers. Bloomberg reports Frank Kendall, the undersecretary for acquisition who steps down this month, approved the Milestone B decision that will begin money flowing for the advanced development of the fleet of 12 submarines. It’s one leg of the estimated $1 trillion program to rebuild America’s nuclear triad over the next 30 years. Bloomberg reports the Navy is in contract talks with General Dynamics, which will lead the program, with Huntington Ingalls Industries as the top subcontractor.
ANGST IN ANKARA: The U.S. continues to try to finesse its deep differences with Turkey over Syria, and now Turkey is making noises about ending American access to its strategically-located Incirlik air base. Ankara is irked that it can’t get any air support for its anti-Islamic State offensive in al-Bab in northern Syria. The problem is the U.S. believes “Operation Euphrates Shield” is also aimed at Kurdish YPG fighters who are part of the anti-ISIS alliance it has cobbled together. It added up to a rough day for U.S. military spokesman Col. John Dorrian, who tried to thread the needle at yesterday’s briefing from Baghdad.
PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK DAY: Defense Secretary Ash Carter has posted his “exit memo” this morning (all the Cabinet members are submitting them), and it’s a lengthy list of what Carter sees as the accomplishments of the Obama Pentagon over eight years. The White House is also releasing memos of self-congratulation this morning. Few people will likely have the perseverance to plow through the text, so we’ll summarize the overarching theme: If you served in the Obama administration, in or out of uniform, extend your right hand, place it over your left shoulder, and give yourself a pat on the back.
FAREWELL TO THE CHIEF: You also got a flavor for the exit memos in the “voice of God” announcer at the U.S. military’s official farewell ceremony for President Obama at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia. Pete Kasperowicz assembled a collection of the accolades read by a military public address announcer lauding the commander in chief’s leadership as part of the citation for his Distinguished Public Service Medal. Obama used the low-key ceremony in a spartan gymnasium-style building to urge the U.S. military to remain true to its values, and to chide Congress one more time about the ills of sequestration. While the ceremony boasted the requisite military pomp, including a 21-gun salute, it won’t win any awards for set decoration. Obama spoke against a backdrop of empty seats, and what appeared to be plywood panels.
And in case you missed it, a member of “The Old Guard” passed out during the ceremony, and the wires were there to capture the moment on camera. A spokeswoman told us he got medical attention and is feeling fine.
THE RUNDOWN
Defense News: The US Air Force Could Pick New Army-Marine Corps Ride to Guard Missile Fields
Defense One: As Trump’s Foreign Policy Emerges, Watch His Temperament in Washington
Defense News: Engine Drops Out of B-52 During Training at Minot Air Force Base
Breaking Defense: 2017 Forecast: Trump Is The Navy’s Best Friend
Task and Purpose: Iraqi Man Is So Confident Trump Will Beat ISIS He Named His Restaurant After Him
Defense One: The Technology Race to Build — or Stop — North Korea’s Nuclear Missiles
USNI News: Russia Wants to Sell Arms to the Philippines, Hold Joint Naval Drills
Army Times: Army testing 3-D printed drones for on-demand recon
UPI: Defense Dept. orders upgraded underwater drones
Calendar
THURSDAY | JANUARY 5
8:30 a.m. 1777 F St. NW. The Council on Foreign Relations holds an event looking at what reforms are needed within the national security council. cfr.org
9:30 a.m. Dirksen G-50. The Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and head of U.S. Cyber Command Adm. Michael Rogers testify about foreign cyber threats to the United States. armed-services.senate.gov
10 a.m. Senate Visitor’s Center 212. Rep. Michael McCaul and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse unveil a new Center for Strategic and International Studies report on cyber priorities for the next administration.
2 p.m. Hart 219. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence holds a closed briefing. intelligence.senate.gov
3 p.m. Senate Visitor’s Center 217. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a closed hearing on the administration’s response to Russian hacking. foreign.senate.gov
3 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. A panel of experts talks about the future of the Pakistani Taliban. wilsoncenter.org
FRIDAY | JANUARY 6
7 a.m. 1401 Lee Highway, Arlington, Va. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James speaks at an Air Force Association breakfast event. afa.org
TUESDAY | JANUARY 10
9 a.m. Livestream. John Kerry, the secretary of state, and Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump’s national security adviser, will speak at a “passing the baton” event hosted by the United States Institute of Peace. usip.org
WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 11
9:30 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. Officials from the Marine Corps discuss how science fiction has impacted the service’s ability to develop new technology. atlanticcouncil.org
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, speaks about challenges for the next president and new lawmakers. csis.org
10 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson speaks at the Woodrow Wilson Center. wilsoncenter.org
10:30 a.m. 850 Tenth St. NW. Vice Adm. Joseph Rixey, the director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, delivers a keynote on reforming the security cooperation enterprise. ndia.org
3:30 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The Atlantic Council releases a paper titled, “A Nonstate Strategy for Saving Cyberspace.” atlanticcouncil.org
THURSDAY | JANUARY 12
2 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. A panel of experts talks about how the next president should combat Al Qaeda in Syria. atlanticcouncil.org
