US strike on Syria is widely hailed, but angers Russia

World leaders rallied around the United States after it launched a missile strike early Friday on a Syrian air base in response to this week's chemical attack, while Russia condemned the move as "aggression" and suspended crucial coordination with Washington in Syria's congested skies.

The overnight missile attack, which marked the first time the U.S. has directly targeted Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces, was condemned by his allies in Russia and Iran but welcomed by the Syrian opposition and its supporters, who expressed hope it signaled a turning point in the devastating six-year-old civil war.

The bombing represents Trump's most dramatic military order since taking office and thrusts the U.S. administration deeper into the complex Syrian conflict. The Obama administration threatened to attack Assad's forces after previous chemical attacks, but never followed through. Trump called on "all civilized nations" to join the U.S. in seeking an end to the carnage in Syria.

About 60 U.S. Tomahawk missiles hit the Shayrat air base, southeast of Homs, a small installation with two runways, where aircraft often take off to bomb targets in northern and central Syria. The U.S. missiles hit at 3:45 a.m. (0045 GMT) Friday morning and targeted the base's airstrips, hangars, control tower and ammunition areas, U.S. officials said.

They were fired from two warships in the Mediterranean Sea, in retaliation for Tuesday's deadly chemical attack, which officials said used chlorine mixed with a nerve agent, possibly sarin.

The Syrian military said at least seven people were killed and nine wounded in the missile strike. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition monitor, also put the death toll at seven, including a general and three soldiers.

The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin believes the U.S. strike is an "aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law." Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin believes the U.S. launched the strikes under a "far-fetched pretext."

"Washington's move deals a significant blow to the Russia-U.S. relations, which are already in a deplorable shape," Peskov said. He added that the attack creates a "serious obstacle" for creating an international coalition against terrorism.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said it is suspending a memorandum with Washington — signed after Russia began an air campaign in support of Assad in September 2015 — under which the two countries exchange information about sorties over Syria.

The Kremlin later moved to diminish the attack, saying that just 23 of 59 cruise missiles reached the air base, destroying six Syrian jets but leaving the runway intact. Moscow also confirmed it had been informed of the attack in advance.

A U.S.-led coalition has been bombing Islamic State targets in Syria since 2014, while Russia's air force has been striking both extremist groups and Syrian rebels in order to aid Assad's forces.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which support the Syrian opposition, welcomed the missile strike, with Riyadh calling it a "courageous decision" by Trump. Iran called it a "dangerous" unilateral action that would "strengthen terrorists" and further complicate the conflict.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Assad's government "must be removed from leading Syria as soon as possible, and the best way to do that is by starting the transitional process."

The British government says it was informed in advance about the strike and firmly supports the American action.

Prime Minister Theresa May's office says the action was "an appropriate response to the barbaric chemical weapons attack launched by the Syrian regime, and is intended to deter further attacks." France, Italy and Israel also welcomed the strikes.

A Syrian opposition group, the Syrian Coalition, said the U.S. attack puts an end to an age of "impunity" and should herald the start of a larger campaign against Damascus.

Maj. Jamil al-Saleh, a U.S-backed rebel commander based in the area where the U.S. attack took place, told The Associated Press he hoped the strike would be a "turning point" in the six-year-old war, which has killed an estimated 400,000 people.

Assad's government had been under mounting international pressure after the chemical attack, which killed 87 people, including 31 children. Even Russia has said its support is not unconditional.

Syria rejected the accusations, and blames opposition fighters for stockpiling the chemicals. Russia has said the toxic agents were released when a Syrian airstrike hit a rebel chemical weapons arsenal on the eastern outskirts of Khan Sheikhoun, and that blame should not be apportioned until a full investigation has been carried out.

Russia's intervention in Syria since September 2015 has turned the balance of power in Assad's favor, and Moscow has used its veto power at the Security Council on several occasions to prevent sanctions against Damascus.

Trump had said the chemical attack crossed "many, many lines," and put the blame squarely on Assad's forces. Speaking Thursday on Air Force One, Trump said the attack "shouldn't have happened, and it shouldn't be allowed to happen."

A survivor of the chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun told the AP he hopes the U.S. missile attack puts an end to government airstrikes, creating a safe area for civilians.

Alaa Alyousef, a 27-year old resident of Khan Sheikhoun, said the U.S. missile attack "alleviates a small part of our suffering," but he said he worried it would be an "anesthetic" that numbs their pain and saves face for the international community.

"What good is a strike on Shayrat air base alone while we have more than 15 other air bases," he said. Alyousef lost at least 25 relatives in the chemical attack.

The U.S. had initially focused on diplomatic efforts after the chemical attack, and had pressed the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution drafted with Britain and France that would have condemned Syria's suspected use of chemical weapons. But the vote was canceled because of differences among the 15 members.

___

Assange insists Wikileaks exposed the TRUTH behind Clinton's Establishment 'cronies'

JULIAN Assange has vehemently denied allegations that he sought to help Donald Trump's election bid and instead insists he merely gave the world the truth.

Mr  Assange condemned reports that he tried to help Donald Trump win the US Presidency. 

The Wikileaks founder said viewers ought to blame Hillary Clinton, not him, for what was revealed in his notorious leaks during the campaign season.

He also said that the "ball was in America's court" when asked whether he will ever leave the Ecuadorian embassy.

Mr Assange has been living in the embassy in London for the past four years, avoiding an attempt by Sweden to extradite him over sex attack allegations.

Contrary to allegations that he was biased against Mrs Clinton's candidacy, Mr Assange told Peston on Sunday: "I did not have a position in relation to Clinton.

"Yes, we suffered under Obama and Clinton, who engaged in an epidemic against sources, prosecuting three times as many journalists as all previous presidencies combined.

"But we merely exposed the truth behind the candidates."

Mr Assange also criticised the "partisan nature" of journalists and said that Mr Trump was valid to call out reporters' inaccuracies. 

He added: "If he is hostile to their accuracy, we understand that. He can complain about that. That's okay."

GETTY

Mr Assange refused to deny that Russians fed Wikileaks the information on Mrs Clinton

GETTY

The Wikileaks founder said viewers ought to blame Hillary Clinton, not him, for what was revealed

allegations that he helped Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin through his leaksduring the campaign season.

Mr Assange said: "Let's look at the actual allegations.

"Wikileaks published the authentic words of Hillary Clinton and her campaign staff.

"We revealed what she said in secret to Goldman Sachs and the way she rigged the election against Bernie Sanders.

"We showed this. It was a matter for the American people whether they liked that or not.

"It's a matter Clinton and her campaign staff what they choose to do and what they choose to say."

GETTY

Assange went on to reject allegations that he helped Donald Trump

Despite Mr Peston's questions, Mr Assange refused to deny that Russians fed Wikileaks the information on Mrs Clinton.

However, he also said that there was a "complete lack of understanding of Wikileaks" from the outside world.

As for his future, the Wikileaks leader confirmed the "ball was in the US court" over his pledge to leave the embassy following the decision to release whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

He added: “We have approached the DoJ, saying are they going to drop this case?

"We say it's unconstitutional, it is unlawful, that it should not be pursued. What are they going to do?

"We haven’t heard back from the DoJ yet, the ball is in their court."

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Attackers in Santa Claus suits opened fire inside a packed Istanbul nightclub

"The word 'Islam' means 'surrender and submission', enslavement to Allah, not 'peace'; and never meant peace. The word 'Muslim' means 'one who surrenders to God.' But the liberal press makes it a word of "peace" and "love" . 
             —Maven Stark 
                     


Attackers dressed in Santa Claus suits opened fire inside a packed Istanbul nightclub shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day, killing at least 35 people and wounding dozens more, Turkish officials said.

 Gov. Vasip Sahin of Istanbul Province called it a terrorist attack.

 The attack occurred about 1:15 a.m. at the nightclub, Reina, where as many as 600 people were celebrating the New Year, officials said. Mr. Sahin said the attackers — initial reports said there had been as many as three — had fired on the police before heading inside the club.

 “One person first kills the police officer outside, and then a civilian,” the governor said. “Inside, he rained bullets brutally, mercilessly over innocent people who were there just to celebrate the New Year and have fun.”
 The club overlooks the Bosporus — which separates Europe and Asia — and some clubgoers jumped into the water in their panic over the attack. Mehmet Kocarslan, the owner, told the Hurriyet news site that there had been increased security measures for the past 10 days after American intelligence officials had warned about an attack. He said the attackers had used Kalashnikov rifles. Television footage showed dozens of ambulances rushing to the scene and people fleeing, some walking with difficulty, arm in arm. Hurriyet said three assailants in Santa costumes had opened fire at the security staff members at the gate and stormed in.

NTV, a Turkish channel, said the police were still searching for the attackers.

 On the European side of Istanbul, the neighborhood is an international travel destination known for its food stalls and vibrant night life. The area is a mix of stone, brick and wooden buildings along pedestrian lanes.

"... this is what Allah and his messenger promised us. Kill all non-Muslims. "

A statement threatening attacks in Turkey that was published this week by Nashir Media Foundation, an organization with ties to the Islamic State.

Turkey is still recovering from a failed coup attempt that began on July 15 in which at least 265 people were killed. Though the effort sputtered in a matter of hours, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded with a sweeping, monthslong crackdown targeting dissidents across Turkish society. In addition to arresting thousands of military personnel suspected of involvement in the coup, hundreds of thousands of civil servants, educational workers and journalists have been purged.
The coup and the assassination of the Russian Ambassador Andrey G. Karlov in Ankara on Dec. 19 raised concerns that the country’s security establishment has grown ineffective. The internal turmoil also raised doubts about how well Turkey will be able to participate in international counterterrorism efforts, especially with regard to the Islamic State.

 In the wake of the crackdown, protests against Mr. Erdogan have led to frequent clashes between demonstrators and the police. And reports of targeted attacks against civilians after martial law was declared in July have revived painful memories of the political violence Turkey experienced in the 1970s and 1980s.

No, the power grid in Vermont was not infiltrated by Russian hackers

You may have read or seen on social media a Washington Post story published Friday which claimed that Russian hackers had hacked the U.S. power system via an electrical grid in Vermont. That’s not what happened and the incident is not necessarily connected to the alleged Russian hack of the Democratic National Committee.

 The Washington Post has since amended its story: What actually happened is that a single laptop belonging to the Burlington Electric utility was found to be infected with malware—software intended to damage or disable computer systems— that originated in Russia.  The most important detail of this story is that the laptop in question was not connected to the electrical grid. 

 In other words, a laptop belonging to the organization responsible for maintaining the grid was infected, but not the computer networks controlling the grids. Burlington Electric discovered that the laptop had been infected after the FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a joint report Thursday that included code believed to have been used by Russian hackers to penetrate the Democratic National Committee. The utility scanned its own systems for evidence it had been infected with malware and discovered a single laptop had been compromised -- again, one that was not connected to the electrical grid. “We detected the malware in a single Burlington Electric Department laptop not connected to our organization’s grid systems. We took immediate action to isolate the laptop and alerted federal officials of this finding,” said Mike Kanarick, spokesperson for Burlington Electric in a statement posted online. Burlington Electric is working with federal officials to trace how the code got into the laptop. So did the Russians attack a laptop at a public utility, even if it wasn’t connected to the electric grid? It’s possible, but not certain. The malware found was certainly Russian made and related to the malware used to infiltrate the DNC. But that does not mean that it was used by Russians. Malware, like any software, is bought and sold. It is not necessarily used by the same people who craft it. What’s crucial is that we don’t even know if the code was intended to disrupt the utility, or if hackers just wanted to test if they could penetrate the system. We also don't know when the malware infected the laptop An actual attack on an electrical grid has occurred in another part of the world—Ukraine. In 2015, a well-known piece of malware called BlackEnergy was used as part of an expertly coordinated attack that shut off power for an estimated 250,000 people (but only for several hours.) Ukraine’s intelligence community has vehemently blamed Russia for the attack, though it has not offered concrete proof to bolster its accusation. Given the political tension between the two nations, the accusation is not unrealistic, but there still is no smoking gun. While the idea of foreign hackers targeting the national electrical grid in the United States is certainly scary, there’s no evidence that it has already occurred, at least not in Vermont. There is, of course, a serious risk to the electrical grid from a cyberattack, but that threat isn’t as worrisome as policymakers, cybersecurity firms and others sometimes make it seem. After all, squirrels wreak much more havoc on our electrical grid than hackers all the time.



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Trump Praises 'very smart' Putin After US Retaliates Against Russia

President-elect Donald Trump hailed Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday for not officially retaliating against the U.S. action against Russia.


 “Great move on delay (by V. Putin) – I always knew he was very smart!” Trump tweeted.

 Earlier in the day, Putin denounced President Obama’s decision to punish Russia for interfering in the U.S. elections. The Obama administration and U.S. intelligence community have accused the Kremlin of backing the cyberattacks that leaked politically toxic emails from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman.

 President Obama announced Thursday that his administration would place sanctions against Russian intelligence services, expel 35 suspected spies and close two estates that the U.S. linked to Russia’s intelligence-gathering operation.

 Putin said he would have the right to lash back at the U.S. but would wait until Trump takes office on Jan. 20 and then work with the new administration.

Russia has repeatedly denied meddling in the U.S. election. “As it proceeds from international practice, Russia has reasons to respond in kind. Although we have the right to retaliate, we will not resort to irresponsible ‘kitchen’ diplomacy but will plan our further steps to restore Russian-U.S. relations based on the policies of the Trump administration,” Putin said.

 Trump has repeatedly showered praise on Putin. During the campaign he praised the Russian president as a stronger leader than Obama, even when confronted with allegations that Putin kills journalists and political foes. In his initial statement reacting to the Obama administration’s punishments against Russia, Trump said he would meet with U.S. intelligence officials to learn more about the issue. “It’s time for our country to move on to bigger and better things,” Trump said Thursday. “Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation.”

 On Friday, Russia’s U.S. embassy quickly retweeted Trump’s post cheering Putin’s intelligence.





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Barack Obama expels 35 Russian Diplomats over election hacking row in 'Cold War deja vu'

"Retaliation is the last refuge of the incompetent which Obama displays at every post-defeat by the righteous men.
                          Maven Stark


United States has expelled 35 Russian spies in response to Kremlin-backed interference in the presidential election, further escalating tensions between Moscow and Washington. The diplomatic officials from the Russian embassy in Washington and its consulate in San Francisco were deemed "persona non grata" and told to leave the country within 72 hours.

President Barack Obama also
announced it was closing two compounds owned by the Russian government, and used for intelligence operations, in New York and Maryland, from noon on Friday.

 He also ordered sanctions against Russia's GRU and FSB intelligence agencies, and six named Russian individuals. They included Lt Gen Korobov, head of the GRU, and three of his deputies. The other two were Alexei Belan and Yevgeny Bogachev, two Russians wanted by the FBI for cyber crimes for years. Also sanctioned were three computer companies alleged to have provided "material support" to the GRU.

 The moves marked an unprecedented new low for US-Russian relations under Mr Obama's presidency. He said the 35 expelled diplomats were "intelligence operatives". The developments marked an unprecedented new low in US-Russian relations under Mr Obama's presidency.


The Russian Embassy in London called it "Cold War deja vu", and said the US "wanted to destroy" ties with Moscow. Mr Obama accused Russia of "aggressive harassment" and said "all Americans should be alarmed by Russia's actions". He said hacking "could only have been directed by the highest levels of the Russian government". Mr Obama said: "These actions follow repeated private and public warnings that we have issued to the Russian government, and are a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm US interests in violation of established international norms of behaviour. Such activities have consequences."

 He added: "This is not the sum total of our response to Russia’s aggressive activities. We will continue to take a variety of actions at a time and place of our choosing, some of which will not be publicised."

 A US official added: "By imposing costs on the Russian diplomats in the United States, by denying them access to the two facilities, we hope the Russian government reevaluates its own actions."
 It was understood that Russia's ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, will not be one of those expelled. It comes after the the CIA and FBI concluded that Russia was responsible for hacking the Democratic Party and releasing embarrassing emails with the intention of helping Donald Trump to win the White House.
 Russia has repeatedly denied the hacking accusations. A spokesman for Russia's Foreign Ministry said: "If Washington really does take new hostile steps they will be answered. "Any action against Russian diplomatic missions in the US will immediately bounce back on US diplomats in Russia."

Rex Tillerson, Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, with Vladimir Putin CREDIT: AFP

Mr Trump said he would meet intelligence officials next week to hear evidence of the Russian hacking.

He said: "It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things.

"Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation."

Kellyanne Conway, one of Mr Trump's top advisers, told CNN that Mr Trump stood by his claims that it was unclear whether Russia carried out the hacks and insisted that alleged Russian hacking was being used to try and delegitimise Mr Trump's victory.

The US State Department said the expelled diplomats had been "acting in a manner inconsistent with their diplomatic or consular status".It also said the US actions were a response to increased harassment of US diplomats in Moscow over the last year. In 2001 the US expelled 50 Russian diplomats from the country over accusations of spying. Russia responded in kind, ordering 50 US diplomats to leave its own country. 

The Russian Embassy in London called the US action "Cold War deja vu". It added: "Everybody, including the American people, will be glad to see the last of this hapless administration." Its post on social media was accompanied by a picture of a duck and the word "Lame".

According to one US official there are a total of about 100 Russian spies in the US, so about one third of th em are being ejected. Starting on Friday at noon, the White House said, Russia will be denied access to compounds in Maryland and New York that have been used for intelligence-related purposes.

 A statement from the state department said the diplomatic expulsions were a response not only to hacking but to “a pattern of harassment of our diplomats overseas, that has increased over the last four years, including a significant increase in the last 12 months”.
 The statement said the harassment has included “arbitrary police stops, physical assault, and the broadcast on state TV of personal details about our personnel that put them at risk”.
 For some time, US diplomats in Russia have anecdotally reported being followed and harassed by police. In June, a US diplomat was wrestled to the ground by a policeman as he scrambled to get inside the embassy. Russian authorities said the man was a CIA agent operating under cover. 

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GOP Congressman: Russia did 'what the media should have done' by leaking emails

A longtime Republican congressman says that Russia’s leak of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign during the U.S. presidential election was a public service.
 “If Russia succeeded in giving the American people information that was accurate,” Arizona Rep. Trent Franks said Thursday afternoon on MSNBC, “then they merely did what the media should have done.”
 Franks’ comments came shortly before the Obama administration announced sanctions against Moscow for interfering with the U.S. election. “I’m all for doing what’s necessary to protect the election here,” Franks said. “But there’s no suggestion that Russia hacked into our voting systems or anything like that.”

 In October, U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russian hacking of American “political organizations” like the Democratic National Committee was an attempt to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system. In a closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill earlier this month, the Central Intelligence Agency concluded that it was “quite clear” that electing Donald Trump was Russia’s goal. Trump dismissed the assessment, calling it a “card” being played by the Democrats to undercut his stunning election victory.

 “Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card,” Trump tweeted on Dec. 12. “It would be called conspiracy theory!”

“Are we talking about the same cyberattack where it was revealed that head of the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the debate?” Trump tweeted on Dec. 16. 

On CNN, Sean Spicer, Trump’s incoming White House press secretary, also suggested to Jake Tapper that the media did not scrutinize the DNC’s lack of adequate cybersecurity.

“At what point is it incumbent upon you guys in the media to ask the DNC what measures do they take to protect this? Because it seems to me there’s a lot of talk about the DNC not doing what they should have done to protect their own network servers,” Spicer said. “I’m not saying in any way shape or form, to be clear, any attempt to hack or to do anything nefarious is wrong and illegal. At some point, the question hasn’t even been asked of the DNC, ‘Did you take basic measures to protect the data that was on there?'”

But Franks’ praise of a foreign actor’s alleged cyberattack against the United States ignited a backlash on social media.

“It’s good to know what side he’s on,” Neera Tanden wrote on Twitter. “When it comes to American citizens v Russia, Franks chose Russia.”

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Let it be an arms race: Trump doubles down on nuclear proliferation

"There’s never a dull moment when a gilded finger is on the red button".

When asked to clarify his stance on expanding the United States’ nuclear arsenal, President-elect Donald Trump reportedly touted the possibility of an arms race — not unlike the ominous standoff between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War.

“Let it be an arms race, because we will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all,” Trump said Friday morning, according to “Morning Joe” co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough.

In an off-air phone conversation, Brzezinski had asked Trump to address a tweet from Thursday about building up the nation’s nuclear capabilities.

Trump’s apparent policy contradicts decades of U.S. policy regarding nuclear proliferation and the country’s international commitments. The Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) went into force in 1970 addressing three major concerns in the Atomic Age: disarmament, nonproliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Virtually every state in the world agreed that countries with nuclear weapons would work toward disarmament, countries without nuclear weapons would not seek them and all countries would be able to use peaceful nuclear technology. In April 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to the principles and the goals of the NPT during a speech at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. “I am pleased to stand here today representing a president and an administration that is committed to the vision of a world without nuclear weapons and to taking the prudent actions that are necessary to one day make that possible,” Kerry said.

 Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway discussed the president-elect’s disconcerting tweet during a heated interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Thursday, the day she was appointed counselor to the president. Maddow suggested that if the U.S. announced a U-turn on nuclear policy, then countries like India and Pakistan might move their nuclear weapons to launch status. That’s what has happened, she said, when presidents even joke about nuclear weapons. “We’re getting ahead of ourselves, Rachel,” Conway replied.

Maddow said that Trump announcing on Twitter that he wanted to expand the nation’s nuclear arsenal is a big deal (not that anyone cares about what Maddow has to say), and that Trump doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about on that issue. Conway said that in a perfect world they wouldn’t need to talk about nukes, but that this is not a perfect world. “In the world in which we live, which is not perfect, in fact, it’s very dangerous and very uncertain, I hope we can all agree, military might has been one of the ways to deter people from doing bad things,” she said. According to Conway, Trump may have been echoing actions President Obama has taken to upgrade our weapons systems (although Trump’s comment to Brzezinski the following morning suggests he actually wants to amass more nukes). She took issue with Maddow scrutinizing what Trump says on social media as if it were the official policy of his administration. “I think that we’re getting a little too far ahead of ourselves that he’s changing policy and making policy in a way that he did not intend,” Conway said. Maddow fired back: “The president making policy happens whenever the president speaks on a national security matter.” Political strategist Sean Spicer, who was recently named Trump’s White House press secretary, was asked to address the recent nuclear fiasco during an appearance on “Today” on Friday morning. He said the president-elect will “take action” to make sure that American interests are protected.

 “We’re not going to sit back as a country and allow other countries to expand their nuclear capability,” he said. Spicer added that Trump only plans to expand the country’s nuclear stockpile if other countries don’t “come to their senses.” “Other countries need to be put on notice that he is not going to sit back and allow them to undermine our safety, our sovereignty,” he said.

 Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Trump several times during his annual end of the year news conference. He said that there was nothing unusual about Trump talking about strengthening the U.S. nuclear arsenal and armed forces. He said Russia would not compete in an arms race because it would not be able to keep up. “If anyone is unleashing an arms race, it’s not us,” Putin said. “We will never spend resources on an arms race that we can’t afford.” As with many of Trump’s proposals, the backlash has been swift and fierce. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told CNN’s “New Day” that Trump could create “chaos for international relations” if he keeps tweeting certain things at 5 a.m. that his press people need to roll back at 7 a.m., only to be undermined by another tweet at 9 a.m. Another recent example of this confusion is how Trump insisted Thursday that he still plans to “drain the swamp,” directly contradicting former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s claim a day earlier that he abandoned the slogan.


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Trump: Claims of Russian interference in 2016 race 'ridiculous,' Dems making excuses

                                           
“Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card,” Trump tweeted on Monday. “It would be called conspiracy theory

President-elect Trump speaks with Chris Wallace about the head of ExxonMobil in a 'Fox News Sunday' exclusive video Trump: Tillerson is 'much more than a business executive'

President-elect Donald Trump, in an exclusive interview with “Fox News Sunday,” decried as “ridiculous” the CIA’s reported assessment that Russia intervened in the election to boost his candidacy – describing the claim as another “excuse” pushed by Democrats to explain his upset victory. victory. “It's just another excuse. I don't believe it,” Trump said. “… Every week it's another excuse. We had a massive landslide victory, as you know, in the Electoral College.” Trump spoke with Fox News’ Chris Wallace in the president-elect’s first Sunday show interview since winning the election. He spoke at length about his Cabinet selection process, defending his decision to tap several military generals while previewing an announcement soon on his secretary of state choice. He vowed as well to “clean” up and “speed” up government agencies, without necessarily dismantling President Obama’s legacy. But while staying careful not to personally criticize the sitting president over his intelligence agencies’ analysis on foreign cyber-interference in the election, Trump made clear he rejects their assessment so far.

“Nobody really knows, and hacking is very interesting. Once they hack, if you don't catch them in the act you're not going to catch them,” he said. “They have no idea if it's Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed some place.” Bolton said this means that a “really sophisticated foreign intelligence service would not leave any cyber fingerprints, and yet people say they did leave fingerprints in the hacks regarding our election.” “So the question has to be asked: Why did the Russians run their smart intelligence service against Hillary’s server, but their dumb intelligence service against the election?”
 Trump was responding to a Washington Post report that the CIA concluded in a secret assessment that Russia interfered in the race to boost Trump, not just undermine confidence in the system. Intelligence agencies reportedly found individuals connected to the Russian government gave WikiLeaks hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee, as well as from Hillary Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta – though did not have “specific intelligence” showing Kremlin officials directed the activity. The assessment was shared with key senators. TRUMP TEAM SAYS 'MOVE ON' AFTER OBAMA SEEKS HACKING PROBE Shortly before the interview with Trump aired on Sunday, a bipartisan group of senators described the Russia interference reports as serious.

 “For years, foreign adversaries have directed cyberattacks at America’s physical, economic, and military infrastructure, while stealing our intellectual property. Now our democratic institutions have been targeted. Recent reports of Russian interference in our election should alarm every American,” Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a statement. “… Democrats and Republicans must work together, and across the jurisdictional lines of the Congress, to examine these recent incidents thoroughly and devise comprehensive solutions to deter and defend against further cyberattacks. This cannot become a partisan issue. The stakes are too high for our country.” Amid the CIA findings, the White House also said Friday that President Obama has ordered his intelligence agencies to conduct a full review of hacking during the 2016 election and present their findings before he leaves office. Trump’s transition team responded by saying the election “ended a long time ago” and “it’s now time to move on.”
 WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange also has previously said the Russian government was not the source. Trump and his supporters point to ambiguity inside intelligence and law enforcement agencies in arguing that Russia’s role is not clear. Indeed, the Post later reported that while the CIA pointed to Russia, a senior FBI official suggested to lawmakers that the agency and bureau were not on the same page on the matter.
 Speaking with “Fox News Sunday,” Trump said “there’s great confusion.” He went so far as to assert, “Democrats are putting it out because they suffered one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics in this country.” Trump said the efforts could be political, adding Democrats are “very embarrassed.”
 Trump, meanwhile, told Fox News he wants to make government more efficient, especially when it comes to the EPA. “EPA, you can't get things approved. I mean, people are waiting in line for 15 years before they get rejected, okay? That's why people don't want to invest in this country,” he said. “... So we're going to clean it up. We're going to speed it up and, by the way, if somebody is not doing the right thing we're not going to approve.”
 But asked if he’ll take a “wrecking ball” to the Obama legacy, Trump said, “No. I don't want to do that at all.” Trump went on to defend his selection of several retired generals for key positions, including secretary of Defense and Homeland Security. “I like generals. I think generals are terrific, you know? They go through schools and they sort of end up at the top of the pyramid. And it's like a test. They passed the test of life. … And I like the three that I have very, very much,” he said. He also said he’s “getting very, very close” to picking a secretary of State nominee, amid indications he’s leaning toward ExxonMobil boss Rex Tillerson. “He's much more than a business executive. ... He's a world-class player,” Trump said of Tillerson, without confirming the choice. As for Trump’s recent attempts to pressure American companies not to move operations abroad, the president-elect was unapologetic and denied that moving and selling back to America represents the free market. “That’s the dumb market, okay? That's the dumb market. I'm a big free trader, but it has to be fair,” Trump said. “We're being stripped of our workers.” He said he wants to pursue a 35 percent tax on companies that leave, saying, “There are going to be consequences.” He predicted “nobody’s going to move.” Trump responded to reports that he’ll keep a stake in business interests like “Celebrity Apprentice” and his real estate operations. He defended the arrangements, saying he’ll have nothing to do with the management. Trump said his executives and children will run his company, and denied any similarities to the Clinton Foundation taking money from foreign governments while his 2016 rival was at the State Department. “This is different,” Trump said. “… I am turning down billions of dollars of deals. I will tell you, running for president -- the money I spent is peanuts compared to the money I won't make, and that's okay, because this is so important. … This is a calling.”

Trump Team Challenges Intel On Russian Election Influence

Donald Trump's presidential transition team on Saturday challenged the veracity of U.S. intelligence assessments concluding that Russia was trying to tip the November election to the Republican. A senior U.S. official said the CIA has determined with "high confidence" that Moscow's interference in the presidential race was intended to help Trump. The assessment is based in part on evidence that Russian actors had hacked Republicans as well as Democrats but were only releasing information harmful to Trump's rival, Hillary Clinton, according to the official. The official was not authorized to discuss the private intelligence assessment publicly and insisted on anonymity. Trump's transition team questioned both the quality of the intelligence community's information and its motivations. In a statement late Friday, the transition team said the officials making the assessment are "the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction." On Saturday, spokesman Sean Spicer said there were "people within these agencies who are upset with the outcome of the election." Spicer also denied a report in The New York Times that Republican National Committee systems had been breached during the election. He told CNN the party committee has worked with intelligence agencies that have told it "with certainty that we haven't been hacked." Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would press for a congressional investigation in the new year. "That any country could be meddling in our elections should shake both political parties to their core," he said. "It's imperative that our intelligence community turns over any relevant information so that Congress can conduct a full investigation." There was no immediate official response from Moscow. But Oleg Morozov, a member of the foreign relations committee in the upper house of the Russian parliament, dismissed the claim of Russian interference as "silliness and paranoia," according to the RIA Novosti news agency. Morozov described the allegations as an attempt to force the next administration to stick to Obama's anti-Russian course. The investigation ordered by Obama 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 Friday, including the email hacks that rattled the presidential campaign. It 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 president ordered up the report earlier in the week asked that it be completed before he leaves office next month, Schultz said. "The president wanted this done under his watch because he takes it very seriously," he said. "We are committed to ensuring the integrity of our elections." The Kremlin has rejected the hacking accusations. In the months leading up to the election, email accounts of Democratic Party officials and a top Hillary Clinton campaign aide were breached, emails leaked and embarrassing and private emails posted online. Many Democrats believe the hackings benefited Trump's bid. Schultz said the president sought the probe as a way of improving U.S. defense against cyberattacks and was not intending to question the legitimacy of Trump's victory. "This is not an effort to challenge the outcome of the election," Schultz said. Obama's move comes as Democratic lawmakers have been pushing Obama to declassify more information about Russia's role, fearing that Trump, who has promised a warmer relationship with Moscow, may not prioritize the issue. Given Trump's statements, "there is an added urgency to the need for a thorough review before President Obama leaves office next month," said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., senior Democrat on the House intelligence committee. If the administration doesn't respond "forcefully" to such actions, "we can expect to see a lot more of this in the near future," he said. The White House said it would make portions of the report public and would brief lawmakers and relevant state officials on the findings. It emphasized the report would not focus solely on Russian operations or hacks involving Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and Democratic National Committee accounts. Schultz stressed officials would be reviewing incidents going back to the 2008 presidential campaign, when the campaigns of Sen. John McCain and Obama were breached by hackers. Intelligence officials have said Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney were targets of Chinese cyberattacks four years later.