FBI now supports the CIA on Russia’s hacking motives

The allegations over Russia’s role in the just concluded US elections took center stage like week. The FBI is now supporting the CIA’s conclusion that Russia interfered in the presidential election with the goal of aiding Republican candidate Donald Trump’s victory. Series of leaked emails bedevilled the democratic party, even leading to the resignation of the DNC chairman.

In a message sent to employees, CIA Director John Brennan said he had spoken with FBI Director James Comey and James Clapper, the director of national intelligence.

According Brennan’s message “there is strong consensus among us on the scope, nature, and intent of Russian interference in our presidential election.”

With the Russians demanding to see evidence that implicates them in the cyber-attacks allegations, President Barack Obama is now vowing retaliation for hacking operations aimed at interfering with the U.S. election.

“I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections … we need to take action. And we will — at a time and place of our own choosing,” the president told NPR on Thursday.

“Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be,” he added.
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Meanwhile the man at the center of this allegations Vladimir Putin, Russia president and a former KGB operative has kept quiet on the issue as U.S. officials say that they have solid evidence that he personally ordered and directed the cyber operations, which in several cases – saw the private emails of prominent Democrats spilled out into public view.

“Mr. Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it,”

Obama told NPR, referring to a sideline discussion between the two leaders at a G20 summit in China this past September.

“What is it about our political system that made us vulnerable to these kinds of potential manipulations which, as I’ve said publicly before, were not particularly sophisticated. This was not some elaborate complicated espionage scheme. They hacked into some Democratic Party emails that contained pretty routine stuff, some of it embarrassing or uncomfortable,” he said.

He warned that if the U.S. continues to be targeted, it can respond.”Our goal continues to be to send a clear message to Russia or others not to do this to us because we can do stuff to you. But it is also important for us to do that in a thoughtful methodical way. Some of it we do publicly. Some of it we will do in a way that they know but not everybody will,” The outgoing president said.
On whether Obama who has just barely 4 weeks left in office would taken any drastic action on Russia is left to be seen. One thing is clear to international observers, Putin has found an ally in the president-elect, such would not have been the case had Hillary Clinton won the election

Source: http://www.naijasilvergold.com/blog/2016/12/17/can-stuff-obama-russia/