A top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee says the entire Congress should be briefed on Russia’s interference in the election so the American people can learn the extent of the problem.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said on CNN Thursday that people need to know more about how the Russians hacked into private communications related to the Democratic National Committee and top officials in Hillary Clinton’s campaign. It’s a real problem that must be addressed quickly, he said.
“This is something I think the entire country needs to know more about,” he said. “I’m urging that the entire Congress be briefed, not just the members of the intelligence committees, so that all members can share the understanding that we have.”
Schiff said there’s broad bipartisan consensus on the House Intelligence Committee that the Kremlin is responsible for the email leaks posted on WikiLeaks and other websites in the run-up to November’s election. He praised Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., for his plan to launch an investigation into the hacks.
Schiff said President-elect Trump is one of the big hurdles to getting the message across to the American people that the Russians are interfering in internal politics.
Trump said in an interview with Time that he still doesn’t believe Russia played a role in the email leaks. Schiff said he knows Trump has been briefed by the intelligence community that the hacking had to come from the highest levels of the Kremlin, but Trump’s refusal to say so is hurting their case.
“This is someone who just can’t accept the fact that he may have benefited from Russian intervention,” Schiff said, adding that Democrats accept the results of the election and that Trump is the rightful president.
“It may have benefited him this time, but if he crosses Russia — and he’ll have to because ultimately the Russians are not our friends — then he may be the subject of similar hacks, and I would hate to wait for that point to establish some sort of deterrence,” he said.
