Post by annaj26 on Jan 3, 2017 11:00:25 GMT -5
A top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he thinks the Russians were involved in election-related hacking of the US -- a very different view than that held by the incoming administration.
Former CIA director James Woolsey, an adviser to Trump on national security issues, told CNN's Jim Sciutto that determining who was behind the hacks is difficult, but that he believes the Russians -- and possibly others -- were involved.
"I think the Russians were in there, but it doesn't mean other people weren't, too," he said. "It's often not foolproof to say who it is because it is possible and sometimes easy to hide your tracks. There's lots of tricks."
Asked if Trump is playing the media with his comments on who was culpable, Woolsey said it was a "possibility," noting that Trump is an "expert in weaving around" on issues like this.
"Sometimes people may have been talking to somebody in the National Security Agency and have an idea that maybe it was one type of hacking rather than another," he said. "I don't think this is of substantial matter. I think it's basically just dialogue back and forth."
Speaking on Tuesday on CNN's "New Day," Woolsey stressed his belief that more than one country was involved in hacking US Democratic organizations and individuals.
"Is it Russian? Probably some," the Trump adviser told Chris Cuomo, adding that China and Iran could also have been involved. "It shouldn't be portrayed as one guilty party. It's much more complicated than that."
He added, "This is not an organized an operation ... It's not like taking a number at a bakery and standing in line to politely get your dozen cookies ... it's more like a bunch of jackals at the carcass of an antelope."
Woolsey's comments come even as Trump and his aides continue to cast doubt on the links between Russia and recent hacks against Democrats, while US intelligence officials say that newly identified "digital fingerprints" indicate Moscow was behind the intrusions.
One official told CNN the administration has traced the hack to the specific keyboards -- which featured Cyrillic characters -- that were used to construct the malware code, adding that the equipment leaves "digital fingerprints" and, in the case of the recent hacks, those prints point to the Russian government.
But, despite an initial public assessment by the US intelligence community in October that Russia was behind the intrusions, Trump and his staff continue to voice doubts.
"The idea that we're jumping to conclusions before we have a final report is, frankly, irresponsible," Trump's incoming press secretary, Sean Spicer, told CNN's Alisyn Camerota Monday.
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www.cnn.com/2017/01/02/politics/digital-fingerprints-russia-hacking/index.html