What happened
President-elect Donald Trump continued to
insist this week that U.S. intelligence agencies
had no proof for their conclusion that
Russia-linked hackers had sought to influence
the U.S. presidential election in his favor,
even after President Obama announced
a series of retaliatory measures against Moscow.
While all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies
now agree that “digital fingerprints” show
that it was hackers working for the Kremlin
who stole and released emails from senior
Democrats during the election, the presidentelect
has repeatedly disputed that assessment,
and said it is “time to move on from
the issue.” He claimed hacking was a “very
hard thing to prove,” noted that WikiLeaks
founder Julian Assange had denied Moscow’s involvement, and
suggested that intelligence agencies had delayed briefing him on
“so-called” Russian hacking because they needed more time to
“build a case.” Trump said he would hear the agency heads out,
but questioned their credibility by blaming them for intelligence
failures leading up to the Iraq War.
Trump’s comments came after the Obama administration hit
Russia with a series of reprisals for intruding in the election. The
president ordered 35 Russian “intelligence operatives” to leave the
U.S.; placed sanctions on two intelligence agencies, four individuals,
three intelligence-linked companies, and two alleged hackers;
and shuttered two Russian compounds in Maryland and New
York allegedly being used for espionage activities. Obama said the
measures are a “necessary and appropriate response” to the hacks
and will be supplemented by covert actions. Republican House
Speaker Paul Ryan said that Russia has “sought to undermine”
U.S. interests and that the retaliation was “overdue”; Sen. John
McCain called for “more meaningful and stronger” sanctions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who insists his country has no
connection to the hacking, said he wouldn’t expel any U.S. diplomats,
and would wait until Trump took office before considering
“any further steps.” The president-elect praised the Russian leader’s
restraint, tweeting: “I always knew he was very smart!”
stand up to Moscow—over the annexation
of Crimea, the invasion of Ukraine,
the meddling in Syria—clearly emboldened
Putin to interfere with the U.S. election.
Trump should take note. Unless he quits his
“strange and dangerous habit of making
excuses” for the Russian strongman, he
risks becoming yet another Putin patsy.
Trump’s “dismissive response” to the hacking
“deepens questions about his ties to
Russia,” said The Washington Post. Is the
president-elect’s business empire deeply indebted
to Russian companies or oligarchs?
During the campaign, were Trump aides
having “secret communications” with Putin
or his cronies? Trump’s “odd behavior”
over Russia “cannot be easily explained.”
What the columnists said
“The U.S. doesn’t have a problem with Russia,” said Garry Kasparov
in WashingtonPost.com. “It has a problem with Putin.” The
former KGB officer is driven exclusively by a desire to retain his
personal power, wealth, and influence. Weakening the U.S. and
dividing the West is a critical part of his strategy, and cyberwar is
just one of his tools. The only effective response to his aggression is
go after him personally: “Target and expose the vast wealth Putin
and his cronies hide abroad. Freeze their funds and their companies,
revoke their visas.” The dictator will back off only if he fears
suffering humiliation that will “endanger his hold on power.”
Not so fast, said Matt Taibbi in RollingStone.com. The intelligence
agencies haven’t yet provided any specific, concrete evidence
about Russia’s involvement in the hacks that can be independently
verified. They’re asking us to take it on trust that they’re right, and
some U.S. digital experts say the evidence is suggestive but inconclusive.
The U.S. has been burned by the CIA in the past, and we
should “avoid getting fooled again.”
Skepticism is always warranted, said Bret Stephens in The Wall
Street Journal, but Trump was expressing admiration for Putin
long before these hacking accusations surfaced. Maybe he sees the
Russian strongman as a kindred spirit
with whom he can forge “a cooperative
relationship.” But there’s ample
evidence that the Trump Organization
is “entwined with Russian business interests,”
and if Trump wants to dispel
suspicion that his strange affection for
Putin is “driven by less-than-honest
motives,” he needs to come clean
about those ties.
Trump is now in an “awkward position,”
said Zeeshan Aleem in Vox.com.
Lifting these new sanctions would be
the easiest way to “warm U.S.-Russian
relations and gain Putin’s trust”—but
doing so would be a rejection of “the
unanimous and explicit findings of
the intelligence agencies he oversees.”
Obama has boxed his successor in.