US President Barack Obama on Thursday said that the US would retaliate for Russia’s efforts to influence the presidential election, asserting that “we need to take action,” and “we will.”
The comments, in an interview with National Public Radio (NPR), indicate that Obama, in his remaining weeks in office, will pursue either economic sanctions against Russia or perhaps some kind of response in cyberspace.
Obama spoke as US president-elect Donald Trump on Thursday again refused to accept Moscow’s culpability, asking on Twitter why the administration had waited “so long to act” if Russia “or some other entity” had carried out cyberattacks.
The president discussed the potential for US retaliation with Steve Inskeep of NPR for an interview to air yesterday morning.
“I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our election,” Obama said, “we need to take action. And we will — at the time and place of our choosing.”
The White House strongly suggested before the election that Obama would make use of sanctions authority for cyberattacks that he had given to himself by executive order.
However, he did not, in part out of concern that action before the election could lead to an escalated conflict.
If Obama invokes sanctions on Russian individuals or organizations, Trump could reverse them, but that would be politically difficult, as his critics argue that he is blind to Russian behavior.
On Thursday, pressure grew on Trump in the US Congress for him to acknowledge intelligence agencies’ conclusions that Russia was behind the hacking.
Aides said that was all but impossible before the Electoral College convenes on Monday to formalize his victory.
Trump has said privately in recent days that he believes there are people in the CIA who are out to get him and are working to delegitimize his presidency, according to people briefed on the conversations who described them on the condition of anonymity.
In his posting on Thursday, Trump suggested that the government’s conclusions on Russian hacking were a case of sour grapes by Obama. The Trump falsely stated that Obama had waited until after the election to raise the issue.
“Why did they only complain after Hillary [Rodham Clinton] lost?” Trump asked, although US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper Jr formally blamed Russia on Oct. 7 for cyberattacks on the Democratic National Committee.
In September, meeting privately in China with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Obama not only complained, the White House says, but also warned him of consequences if the Russian activity did not stop.
Officials said they were worried that any larger public response would have raised doubts about the election’s integrity, something Trump was already seeking to do during the campaign when he insisted the election was “rigged.”
Among those in his own party, Trump’s refusal to accept the evidence that Russia was the perpetrator was raising growing concerns, with Senator Lindsey Graham saying he would not vote for Rex Tillerson, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, unless Tillerson addressed Russia’s role during his confirmation hearings.
It remains to be seen whether Trump’s stated doubts about Russia’s involvement will subside after Monday’s Electoral College vote. He and his allies have been concerned that the reports of Russian hacking have been intended to peel away votes from him, although even Democrats have not gone so far as to say the election was illegitimate.
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