Trump continues to push back on Russia hacking claims
WASHINGTON — The Russian hacking claims are starting to bug Donald Trump and company.
The president-elect and aides protest that Democrats are pushing stories about Russian interference in the recent election, though congressional Republicans also back investigations into the Russian government's involvement in the hacking of Democratic Party and other political organizations' computers.
The issue seems destined to hover long after Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
Reviving his complaints about the hacking story, Trump released a misleading tweet early Thursday morning: "If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?"
But the Obama administration, intelligence community and media organizations reported the hacking and Russian connections long before the Nov. 8 election, and Trump himself commented on them extensively.
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Republican and Democratic congressional lawmakers back investigations in the wake of reports that some intelligence analysts believe that Russia acted in an effort to help Trump.
"It is becoming increasingly obvious that the Russians were engaged in activities in an attempt to manipulate the election, a direct attack on our national sovereignty," Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., told MSNBC.
Trump transition spokesman Jason Miller criticized what he called "continued efforts to try to de-legitimize the election" and said the president-elect's critics have to realize at a certain point that "the election from last month is going to stand."
Hacking issue surfaced often
Allegations of Russian hacking echoed throughout the last four months of the election:
• June 14:The Washington Post reported that Russian hackers had penetrated Democratic National Committee computers, gaining access to opposition research on Trump.
• July 22: The muckraking group Wikileaks began releasing hacked DNC emails, and that information eventually led to the resignation of DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
• July 27: Trump gave his last formal news conference of the year on this day and called the prospect of Russian hacking a "total deflection" from other campaign issues. He also wondered whether Russia had emails from the private server of Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing," Trump said. "I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."
• Sept. 26: During the first Trump-Clinton debate at Hofstra University in New York, Trump questioned whether Russia was even involved in political hacking: "I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK?"
• Oct. 7: The Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of the National Intelligence issued a joint statement saying the intelligence community "is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of emails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations."
• Oct. 10: On this day, as he did often during the final month of the campaign, Trump said, "I love WikiLeaks." Throughout the last month of the election, WikiLeaks periodically released the hacked emails of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.
New details emerged after Nov. 8
New wrinkles to the story have surfaced following the election.
Intelligence agencies have told lawmakers they now believe Russian hackers acted with the express purpose of helping Trump's election bid. NBC News has reported that analysts believe Russian President Vladmir Putin himself promoted the plan.
President Obama has ordered an investigation, and Republican leaders have endorsed a congressional probe of their own.
The Russia claims will certainly surface during Senate confirmation hearings for secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson, who as CEO of ExxonMobil has done deals with the Russians and knows Putin personally.
Texas-based Republican political consultant Matt Mackowiak said the Russia hacking claims could be "a problem for Tillerson as he can only lose two GOP senators and still be confirmed if all the Democrats unify against him."
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Analysts said hacking allegations against Russia are only a real problem for Trump if he or his aides are somehow directly implicated.
"It's hard to hold Trump responsible for the work, no matter how ugly, of outside actors," said GOP consultant Bruce Haynes, founding partner of Washington-based Purple Strategies. "The accountability here lies with Russia, not with Trump."
Haynes also noted that many Trump backers recall how Obama and other Democrats mocked 2012 nominee Mitt Romney for describing Russia as a geopolitical foe.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he doesn't think the Russians caused Trump's win, telling CNN that "Hillary Clinton lost because she wasn't an agent of change and she tried to disqualify Trump and she wasn't able to do it."
Graham added that Trump should acknowledge that the Russians are culpable.
"If it's a 400-pound guy," he told CNN, "it was a 400-pound Russian guy."
