White House Suggests Putin Directed US Election Hacking

Alexei Nikolsky / AP

The Obama administration said Thursday the covert hack of Democratic Party officials' emails ahead of the presidential election must have happened with the approval of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told NBC's Andrea Mitchell it was a fact Russia was behind the hack — and a targeted attack on American political organizations would only have happened with approval from the "highest level" of the Russian government.

"I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it," Rhodes said on MSNBC. "Everything we know about how Russia operates and how Putin controls the government would suggest, again when you're talking about a significant cyber intrusion like this, we're talking about the highest levels of government."

The comments came after NBC reported on Wednesday that Putin was personally involved in the hack. A Kremlin spokesperson told the Associated Press the report was "laughable nonsense."

View Video ›

MSNBC

The Department of Homeland Security and Director of National Intelligence on Oct. 7 announced that the Russian government directed the hack and release of emails from Democratic National Committee officials and Hillary Clinton's campaign director John Podesta ahead of the presidential election.

"These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process," the joint statement said. "We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities."

Rhodes on Thursday said the White House was considering its response, which could include sanctions as well an offensive or defensive cyber response.

"This isn't just about this election," Rhodes said. "We don't want Russia to feel like they can do this with impunity going forward in future elections or to European allies."

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed on Wednesday that there would be consequences for the Russian meddling, but he declined to say what President Obama had in mind or when they would be instated.

"The President believes that based on what we know about what Russia did, that it merits a proportional response," Earnest said.

LINK: The White House Asked Congress To Keep Quiet On Russian Hacking

from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2hqcj9a