President-elect Trump’s claim that intelligence officials have delayed a briefing on Russia’s election-related cyberactivity due to insufficient evidence is untrue, the White House said Wednesday.
The incoming Republican president suggested in a tweet Tuesday night that his upcoming briefing on the “so-called ‘Russia hacking'” may have been pushed back until Friday because “more time is needed” for the intelligence community “to build a case.”
The “Intelligence” briefing on so-called “Russian hacking” was delayed until Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2017
But White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that intelligence officials “have not encountered any delays” as they continue to compile a report on Moscow’s cyberactivity in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 elections. President Obama had first requested a full review of Russia’s hack-and-release operations late last month, asking that it be delivered to him before he leaves office on Jan. 20.
“I can tell you that the intelligence community will make good on that timeline,” Earnest said. “I think the real question that looms is a question that has been raised by some of the public comments or tweets from the president-elect, which is simply: who are you going to believe?
“The decision [Trump] makes about that will have long-term consequences for the way he governs the country,” he added.
