Trump admin examining Russian interference claims from 2016 election

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated the Trump administration is now examining claims of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The announcement contrasts with DNI Tulsi Gabbard's skepticism and bipartisan reports confirming interference.

Trump Administration to Examine 2016 Election Interference Claims

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday said that the Trump administration was examining claims related to Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election. Addressing reporters during a press briefing, Leavitt said, "The people in this room, considering that you all said, for many years, that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump, you should all be very happy that we finally have an administration that is looking into that."

Conflicting Views on Intelligence Assessments

According to CNN, DNI Tulsi Gabbard had argued that intelligence assessments alleging Russian interference were based on "manufactured" intelligence. The report said she had cited a memo disputing claims that the CIA concluded Russia intervened in the election to help Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton.

CNN reported that the intelligence document referenced by Gabbard, a President's Daily Brief, had stated only that Russia had not altered election results through cyberattacks on election infrastructure. The report noted that the Obama administration had never claimed that Russia manipulated vote counts or election machinery.

Contradictory Congressional Findings

The CNN article had also noted that Gabbard's assertions conflicted with findings of multiple congressional investigations, including a bipartisan 2020 report by the Senate Intelligence Committee led by then-Senator Marco Rubio. That report had concluded that Russia engaged in an "aggressive, multi-faceted effort" to influence the 2016 presidential election and that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered actions aimed at damaging Hillary Clinton's campaign and benefiting Trump.

CNN said Rubio had sharply rebuked Trump in 2018 for siding with Putin over US intelligence agencies, stating that the intelligence community's assessment of Russian interference was "100% accurate."

The report further said that a Republican-led House Intelligence Committee report released in 2018 had concluded that Russia interfered in the election at Putin's direction, though it did not explicitly state that the effort was meant to help Trump. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)