Trump Appears to Trust Assange Over US Intel
- by Kristina Cox
- in World Media
- — Jan 5, 2017
On New Year's Eve the president-elect, once again attempting to sow confusion and possible doubt that Russian Federation has been hacking in the USA - specifically into the DNC and John Podesta's emails - claimed he knows more than most people and would reveal this additional, special information "Tuesday or Wednesday".
President-elect Donald Trump answers questions from reporters before a New Year's Eve party on December 31, 2016 at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.
To be clear, on New Year's Eve, Trump said he had information that no one else did, so why does he need to be briefed by USA intelligence to share it?
He pointed to previous intelligence failures over the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq before the USA invasion. "I think he can share with people his conclusions of the report and his understanding of the situation and make sure people understand there's a lot of questions out there".
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's spokesman said no evidence has emerged that shows Russian hacking influenced the outcome of the November election.
President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on two Russian agencies, expelled 35 Moscow agents from the United States and closed two facilities in the USA housing Russian operations. It is unclear if, upon taking office on January 20, he would seek to roll back Obama's actions, which mark a post-Cold War low in U.S. The Russian government has denied the allegations.
In an early-morning tweet, Trump further widened the gulf between himself and the crucial intelligence services that will serve him when he assumes the presidency on January 20, suggesting Assange knows better than the CIA and Federal Bureau of Investigation. "And hacking is a very hard thing to prove". "So it could be somebody else".
United Nations chief appeals for peace on New Year's Day
Guterres, the former UN high commissioner for refugees, also hoped to meet United States President-elect Donald Trump soon. He said peace should be a guide when seeking cease-fires or compromise while negotiating solutions to problems.
"I just want them to be sure because it's a pretty serious charge", he added, citing the CIA's faulty intel on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
When reporters pressed Trump on what he knows, he said, "You'll find out on Tuesday or Wednesday". "We need to have that briefing first", he said.
Republican John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has scheduled a hearing on Thursday on foreign cyber threats and said Russian Federation must be made to pay the price for attacks "on our very fundamentals of democracy". Transition officials said multiple topics could be covered, but would not specifically say whether they included Trump's businesses.
"It's very solid", said Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence committee, on ABC's "This Week".
Mr Putin said: "All the children of American diplomats accredited in Russian Federation, I invite you to the New Year's and Christmas tree in the Kremlin".
Though the ExxonMobil CEO's views on Russian Federation president Vladimir Putin are not clear now, Tillerson is sure to be grilled by Democrats about Exxon's business dealings in Russian Federation and the nature of his relationship to Putin.
