Not long after Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to become the new president, millions of people wondered how it all happened. After the CIA and FBI concluded that Russia hacked the election in favor of the president-elect, Trump quickly dismissed the idea, which he did once again on Twitter on Tuesday night.
Trump on Russia
Just over a month after Election Day, The Washington Post broke a bombshell story which revealed the results of a secret investigation by the CIA. The CIA found that not only did Russia hack into the Democratic National Committee, they did so with the goal of defeating Hillary Clinton.
Just over a week later, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security also doubled down on the CIA report, which the White House also stands by. As seen on his offical Twitter account on January 3, Donald Trump decided to comment on the situation, and did so in typical fashion.
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
"The 'Intelligence' briefing on so-called 'Russian hacking' was delayed until Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case," Donald Trump wrote on Twitter Tuesday night, while labeling the situation "Very strange!" Trump has long denied that Russia had any role in hacking the election, often raising doubts about all the evidence that has been presented.
In addition, Russia has denied any wrongdoing, though President Obama recently issued crippling sanctions against the Kremlin due to the aforementioned investigations.
US President-elect Donald Trump praises 'smart' Vladimir Putin amid row over hacking and diplomat expulsions https://t.co/Embdead2tN
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) December 30, 2016
Last week, President Obama reacted to the news that Russia hacked the election, expelling 35 Russian diplomats in the process.
The following day, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided not to retaliate to Obama's announcement, which led Donald Trump to praise him on Twitter.
Next up
While there is currently a growing bipartisan effort in Congress that is calling for an additional investigation into the reported Russian hacking, Donald Trump doesn't appear interested.
On January 20, when Trump is sworn in on Inauguration Day, the former host of "The Apprentice" will officially be the new commander in chief and only time will tell how he will handle the United States' relationship with Putin and Russia moving forward.