Intel Leaders Set to Testify on Russia Hacking

FBI Director James Comey is set to appear before the Senate Committee on Intelligence today with other leaders of the U.S. intelligence community to testify on Russia's cyber-hacking role in U.S. elections. But it will also be his first opportunity to offer public comments on his stunning announcement days before the presidential election that he was reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.

The outcome of the investigation did not change previous conclusions, and Clinton was never charged with a crime, but Democrats were deeply angered by Comey's decision and Clinton herself later blamed him in part for her loss to Donald Trump.

Today's hearing offers an opportunity for Democrats to question Comey about his decision to reopen that controversial investigation at such a critical point.

Comey will be joined today by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, and NSA and Cyber Command chief Adm. Mike Rogers to discuss the Russian hacking.

On Friday, the intelligence community produced a declassified version of report requested by President Obama that concluded Russian President Vladimir Putin "ordered" a campaign to influence the U.S. presidential election in an attempt by Russia to "undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process."

The report was produced after President-elect Donald Trump for months publicly expressed doubt about similar conclusions by the intelligence community about Russia's role in hacking the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 president campaign.

Trump's incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus, said this weekend that following a formal briefing by intelligence leaders, Trump has accepted the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Russia engaged in cyber-attacks during the U.S. presidential election.

After his briefing, Trump was also critical of the DNC for not properly defending itself against cyber-threats.

On New Year's eve, prior to the release of this report, Trump expressed a lack of confidence in intelligence officials' findings.

"Well, I just want them to be sure, because it's a pretty serious charge, and I want them to be sure. And if you look at the weapons of mass destruction, that was a disaster, and they were wrong," Trump said, when asked why he seems to doubt the intelligence analysis that Russia is behind the hacking, referring to the intelligence cited about Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction leading up to the Iraq War.

"And so I want them to be sure. I think it's unfair if they don't know," he added. "And I know a lot about hacking. And hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So, it could be somebody else. And I also know things that other people don't know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation."

During testimony last Thursday in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Clapper and Rogers warned that a president who disparaged the intelligence community risks undermining the effectiveness of the workforce.

Responding to a question from Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., about "who benefits from a president-elect trashing the intelligence community," Clapper said, "I think there is a difference between skepticism and disparagement," suggesting Trump was engaged in the latter.

Rogers, speaking at the same Senate hearing, warned that skepticism from the leadership could risk staff departures en masse.

"We realize that what we do is in no small part driven in part by the confidence of our leaders in what we do," Rogers said. "And without that confidence, I just don't want a situation where our workforce decides to walk, because I think that really is not a good place for us to be."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

from ABC News: Politics http://ift.tt/2i9Q7BT

Tweet