After Donald Trump shocked the world by defeating Hillary Clinton to become the president-elect, millions wondered how the election ended the way it did. Within weeks, the CIA, FBI, and the White House all concluded that Russia hacked the election in favor of Trump, something the president-elect continues to doubt.
Trump on Twitter
During the election, speculation grew on a daily basis about what possible relationship was taking place between Donald Trump and Russia. While Trump has been quick to lash out at various world leaders, he made sure constantly praise Russian President Vladimir Putin during the campaign trail.
In the CIA report that concluded Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee (DNC), they also found that the goal was to get Trump into the White House. On Friday, Trump was briefed during an intelligence meeting that gave further evidence that Russia hacked the DNC. In response, Trump lashed out on Twitter on January 6.
Gross negligence by the Democratic National Committee allowed hacking to take place.The Republican National Committee had strong defense!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2017
"Gross negligence by the Democratic National Committee allowed hacking to take place," Donald Trump wrote on Twitter late Friday night, before adding, "The Republican National Committee had strong defense!" Trump's comments came just hours after downplaying the impact the hack had on his big election win.
President-elect Trump downplayed Russia's role in the election after a briefing with top US intelligence officials https://t.co/cb9q1T879z pic.twitter.com/UaPog0n2wT
— CNN (@CNN) January 7, 2017
In a statement released by his transition team, Donald Trump acknowledged that Russian, as well as other countries, have been "consistently trying to break through the cyber infrastructure." Despite this, the billionaire real estate mogul also noted that the hack of the DNC had "absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election."
Next up
The intelligence meeting took place at Trump Tower, and was described as "cordial" by transition team members.
Attending the meeting were top members of the intelligence community, including James Comey, the Director of the FBI, James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, and John Brennan, the Director of the CIA. Even with Donald Trump getting all the information delivered to him, it doesn't appear he's willing to change his tune anytime soon. Trump will be sworn into the White House on January 20, and only then will the American people know how the new administration will handle the aforementioned election hacking.
