Washington, D.C. — Center for American Progress Vice President for National Security and International Policy Vikram Singh issued the following statement after the director of national intelligence, or DNI, released a report definitively pointing to Russian hacking of the U.S. election.
The report from the intelligence community assessing Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election made clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a campaign to influence the 2016 election to “undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency” and that Russia “aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances.”
These judgments are in contrast with President-elect Trump’s public statement after he was briefed by intelligence officials this morning, in which he reaffirmed his dismissal of Russia’s interference in the election. Trump’s refusal to accept the intelligence community’s assessment damages U.S. credibility, the integrity of the intelligence community, and faith in the U.S. system of government. President-elect Trump should stop diminishing the gravity of this assault on American democracy. The findings reinforce why Trump must release at least five years of full tax returns and disclose all ties to Russia for himself, his family, his businesses, and his nominees.
Serious questions still remain about how the U.S. government can learn the lessons of this event, impose costs on Russia for its actions, and ensure that this never happens again. With President-elect Trump continuing to deny the facts and set to take control of the U.S. intelligence community on January 20, today’s report makes even more clear the need for a bipartisan independent commission to investigate the full extent of what happened and make recommendations to protect America’s democracy from outside interference.
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