The heads of the US intelligence community have reiterated they have strong evidence Russia mounted a successful bid to disrupt the American election. President-elect Donald Trump has refused to accept their conclusions.
Image: Reuters/K. Lamarque
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Russia meddled in US election, says spy chief
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The CIA said on Thursday it had identified Russian officials who fed material to WikiLeaks which had been hacked from the Democratic National Committee and leading Democrats.
The officials had been directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin through third parties, the agency said.
In a joint statement to a hearing on foreign cyber-threats to the US, outgoing Director of National Intelligence James Clapper (above), National Security Agency chief Michael Rogers and Marcel Lettre, undersecretary of defense for intelligence, wrote that "only Russia's senior-most officials" could have authorized the operation.
"The Russians have a long history of interfering in elections, theirs and other people's," Clapper told the Senate armed services committee.
A mural of US President-elect Donald Trump (R) blowing marijuana smoke into the mouth of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vilnius, Lithuania. Image: Getty Images/S. Gallup
"We have never encountered such a direct campaign to interfere with the election process as we have seen in this case [ … ]. This was a multifaceted campaign. So the hacking was only one part of it, and it also entailed classical propaganda, disinformation, fake news."
"Russia has clearly assumed an even more aggressive cyber posture by increasing cyber espionage operations, leaking data stolen from these operations and targeting critical infrastructure systems," he went on.
President Barack Obama in December ordered the intelligence community to produce a report on cyberattacks and possible Russian interference in the election.
An unclassified version of the report - stripped of sensitive details - will be released to the public early next week.
New evidence?
Thursday's hearing did not offer any new evidence to back the allegations. When asked by senators to provide more proof, Clapper said he could not do so in public, saying it risked damaging the intelligence community's sources and operations.
Obama was briefed on the report on Thursday and his successor, Donald Trump, is expected to receive the same information on Friday.
The briefing for the president-elect comes amid worries he has already soured relations with key parts of the national security establishment.
CIA Director John BrennanImage: Getty Images/W. McNamee
Trump on Wednesday cited WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to suggest that anyone, "even a 14-year-old child," could have been behind the hacking.
"The media lies to make it look like I am against 'Intelligence' when in fact I am a big fan!" Trump said on Twitter.
"The dishonest media likes saying that I am in Agreement [sic] with Julian Assange - wrong. I simply state what he states, it is for the people...to make up their own minds as to the truth."
Hacking the 2016 US election: a timeline
The US expelled 35 Russian diplomats over a bitter row between the two countries. The Kremlin denied US intelligence reports that it supported hackers who tried to sway the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/K. Kudryavtsev
Democrats in the dark
Over the summer, a security company hired by the Democratic National Convention tells the DNC that they have been successfully infiltrated by hackers for more than year. Two groups, known as Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear, both have links to the Russian government, the Washington Post reports.
Image: Reuters/M. Kauzlarich
All eyes on Russia
At the end of July, the FBI launches an investigation into whether or not the Russian government ordered the DNC hack. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calls the move "paranoid."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
'Russia, if you're listening'
On the campaign trail, Republican nominee Donald Trump encourages Russia to "find the 30,000 emails that are missing." In a series of debates with rival Hillary Clinton, Trump casts doubt on Moscow's role in hacks that targeted the DNC and Clinton's campaign manager, John Podesta.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
WikiLeaks targets Clinton
Anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks begins releasing slightly compromising emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Co-founder Julian Assange defends targeting Clinton, saying Trump's own statements are indictment enough of the Republican nominee. Over a period of months, WikiLeaks consistently denies allegations that its sources are based in Russia.
Image: Reuters/A. Schmidt
CIA, FBI investigations
In a rare moment of complete agreement for the two biggest intelligence agencies in the US, both the FBI and CIA come to the conclusion that the Russian government sought to influence the US election by promoting unfavorable coverage of Hillary Clinton.
Image: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Donald and Vladimir
Trump, who has made no secret of his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, calls the intelligence reports "ridiculous." Anti-Clinton voices slam the probe as a distraction meant to discredit the now president-elect. This puts Trump at odds with Republicans in Congress who call for an independent investigation.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Thew & A. Druzhinin/Ria Novosti/Kremlin Pool
Obama expels diplomats
At the end of December, the Obama administration expels 35 Russian diplomats and shuts down two Russian intelligence compounds as the Kremlin continues to deny having a role in the summer's cyberattacks. President Putin eschews direct retaliation, saying he will wait to see how President-elect Trump's Russia policies play out.
