Trump uses Assange to cast doubt on US intel case on hacking
NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump appeared to side with controversial WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange over U.S. intelligence officials Wednesday, citing the activist’s assertion that Russia did not provide his organization with the hacked Democratic emails that roiled the 2016 election.
Trump’s latest challenges to the intelligence community — which has assessed that Russia interfered in the election on the Republican’s behalf — comes as the government rushes to finished a highly anticipated report on the hacking. The president-elect is expected to be briefed on the report Friday by CIA Director John Brennan, FBI Director James Comey and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
Clapper is also testifying on Capitol Hill Thursday. But he could be limited in what he can say about the report’s conclusions given that Trump — and perhaps President Barack Obama, who ordered the report — will not have been briefed by the time he steps before lawmakers.
The gulf between the intelligence community’s assessment and the public information available to support that assessment has given Trump an opening to question whether Russia was behind hacking of the Democratic National Committee and John Podesta, a top aide to campaign rival Hillary Clinton. Trump’s resistance has put him at odds with Obama and lawmakers in both parties, raising questions about why an incoming American president appears to believe Russia’s denials over the intelligence agencies he will soon oversee.