Trump: Hacking Had No Effect on Election

He blames the Democrats' 'gross negligence'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 7, 2017 7:45 AM CST
Trump Blames Hacking on DNC's 'Gross Negligence'
President-elect Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Mar-a-Lago, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016, in Palm Beach, Fla.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Donald Trump was briefed Friday on an intelligence report on Russia's "influence campaign" during the election—and had more to say afterward about the Democrats' failures than Moscow's meddling. "Gross negligence by the Democratic National Committee allowed hacking to take place. The Republican National Committee had strong defense!" he tweeted. On Saturday, he added: "Only reason the hacking of the poorly defended DNC is discussed is that the loss by the Dems was so big that they are totally embarrassed!" The report, an unclassified version of which can be seen here, describes "a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort" from Russia during the 2016 election.

In a statement issued after Friday's briefing, Trump described the meeting with intelligence chiefs as "constructive" and praised their efforts, the BBC reports. "While Russia, China, other countries, outside groups, and people are consistently trying to break through the cyber infrastructure of our governmental institutions, businesses, and organizations including the Democrat National Committee, there was absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election," he said. In a tweet, he added: "Intelligence stated very strongly there was absolutely no evidence that hacking affected the election results. Voting machines not touched!" Trump promised to have a plan in place to combat cyberattacks within 90 days of taking office. (More Donald Trump stories.)

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