This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/29/us/politics/donald-trump-russia-hack.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Trump, Dismissive of Hacking, Says Americans Should ‘Get on With Our Lives’ Donald Trump, After Dismissing Hacking, Agrees to an Intelligence Briefing
(about 11 hours later)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald J. Trump said Americans should “get on with our lives” in comments to reporters before Thursday’s expected White House announcement that the United States will retaliate against Russia for its election-year hacking of Democratic Party computers. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald J. Trump edged away on Thursday from his dismissive stance on American assessments of Russian hacking, saying he would meet with intelligence officials next week “to be updated on the facts” after the Obama administration announced sanctions against Moscow.
Obama administration officials plan to announce a series of measures in response to the Russian meddling in the election, which could include publicly announced economic sanctions and secret countermeasures in cyberspace. In a brief written statement, Mr. Trump’s first response to President Obama’s sweeping action against Russia, the president-elect reiterated his call for “our country to move on to bigger and better things.” But he said that, “in the interest of our country and its great people,” he would get the briefing “nevertheless.”
Asked late Wednesday night at his Mar-a-Lago estate about President Obama’s plans to take action against Russia and its president, Vladimir V. Putin, Mr. Trump was dismissive. He appeared to concede the need to make computers more secure, but was vague about how that related to a possible response to Russia. The statement to some extent echoed his remarks late Wednesday, when he was asked at his Mar-a-Lago estate about Mr. Obama’s plan to take action against Russia. In otherwise opaque comments, Mr. Trump appeared to concede the need to make computers more secure.
“I think we ought to get on with our lives,” he said. “I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly. The whole age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what is going on. We have speed, we have a lot of other things, but I’m not sure we have the kind, the security we need.”“I think we ought to get on with our lives,” he said. “I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly. The whole age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what is going on. We have speed, we have a lot of other things, but I’m not sure we have the kind, the security we need.”
Mr. Trump took questions from a handful of reporters as Don King, the sports promoter and a longtime friend, stood next to him. The president-elect has not held a formal news conference since July, though he promised on Wednesday to hold one in early January. Mr. Trump took questions Wednesday from a handful of reporters as Don King, the sports promoter and a longtime friend, stood next to him. He has not held a formal news conference since July, though he promised on Wednesday to hold one in early January.
Mr. Obama vowed this month to respond to the hacking of the Democratic Party and other institutions, which intelligence agencies have concluded was perpetrated by Russia. In an interview with NPR, Mr. Obama said he would act after he received a final review of the cyberattacks from those agencies. The president-elect has bucked the consensus of his own party in Congress in repeatedly expressing skepticism that Russia was behind hacking during the election. His isolation was underscored by other Republicans’ responses to the Obama administration’s actions.
“I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action,” Mr. Obama told NPR. “And we will — at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be.” Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Thursday that the sanctions were “overdue,” but still blamed Mr. Obama for “eight years of failed policy with Russia.”
Mr. Trump has repeatedly expressed skepticism that Russia was behind the hacking during the election. In early December, the president-elect and his advisers mocked intelligence agencies for their conclusion that Russia was responsible. “Russia does not share America’s interests,” Mr. Ryan said in a statement. “In fact, it has consistently sought to undermine them, sowing dangerous instability around the world.”
“I think it’s ridiculous. I think it’s just another excuse,” Mr. Trump said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” several weeks ago. “I don’t believe it.” Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina went further, saying they would push Congress for even stronger sanctions than Mr. Obama was seeking.
On Twitter, Mr. Trump repeatedly raised doubts about Russia’s involvement in the hacking. He asked: That is a direct challenge to Mr. Trump and his advisers, who mocked intelligence agencies this month for their conclusion that Russia was responsible for the hacking.
In the posts, Mr. Trump wrongly asserted that the United States government had waited until after the election to accuse Russia, after his victory over Hillary Clinton. In fact, the administration had announced in October that it believed Russia was involved in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and the leaking of the organization’s emails. “I think it’s ridiculous. I think it’s just another excuse,” Mr. Trump said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” on Dec. 11. “I don’t believe it.” He linked the intelligence assessments on Russia to Democrats’ embarrassment over their loss to him.
Mr. Trump was asked on Wednesday about statements by Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, that Mr. Putin should be personally sanctioned for the hacking. The president-elect said he was unaware of the comments by Mr. Graham, who was a Republican candidate for president before dropping out in December 2015. Mr. Trump has also voiced his doubts several times on Twitter. In one post, he asked, “If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act?” In another, he asserted that “unless you catch ‘hackers’ in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking.”
In the posts, Mr. Trump wrongly asserted that the United States government had waited until after the election to accuse Russia. In fact, the administration announced in October that it believed Russia had been involved in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and the leaking of the organization’s emails.
Mr. Trump was asked on Wednesday about statements by Mr. Graham that the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, should be personally penalized for the hacking. The president-elect said he was unaware of the comments by Mr. Graham, who was a Republican candidate for president before dropping out a year ago.
“I don’t know what he’s doing,” Mr. Trump said, adding, “As you know, he ran against me.”“I don’t know what he’s doing,” Mr. Trump said, adding, “As you know, he ran against me.”