Donald Trump’s transition team is dismissing a report that the CIA believes Russia tried to intervene in the U.S. election because it wanted Trump to win.
U.S. intelligence officials have accused Russia of hacking into Democratic officials’ email accounts in an attempt to interfere with the presidential campaign. The Washington Post reported Friday that the CIA has concluded that Russia aimed specifically to help Donald Trump win the presidency.
READ MORE: Obama orders ‘deep dive’ review of ‘malicious’ cyberattacks on 2016 presidential election
The Post said the CIA presented its assessment to senators last week. The newspaper’s report cited anonymous U.S. officials who were briefed on that closed-door meeting.
The Kremlin has also rejected the hacking accusations.
A Friday night statement released by the transition team notes that the CIA “are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.”
The transition team statement says: “The election ended a long time ago. … It’s now time to move on and ‘Make America Great Again.”‘
Earlier on Friday, The White house said President Barack Obama has ordered intelligence officials to conduct a broad review of election-season cyberattacks, including the email hacks that rattled the presidential campaign and raised fresh concerns about Russia’s meddling in U.S. elections.
READ MORE: Fake news stories online during US election linked to Russia
The review, led by intelligence agencies, will be a “deep dive” into a possible pattern of increased “malicious cyber activity” timed to the campaign season, White House spokesman Eric Schultz said. The review will look at the tactics, targets, key actors and the U.S. government’s response to the recent email hacks, as well as incidents reported in past elections, he said.
The review is to be completed before Obama leaves office.
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