After President Trump this week mothered a massive cyber-attack that US officials suspect was perpetrated by Russian government hackers, he broke his silence on Saturday by suggesting China was to blame, linking it to his obsession with voter fraud in recent elections .
“The cyber hack is much greater in the fake news media than in reality,” Trump said tweeted late Saturday morning. “I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control. Russia, Russia, Russia is the priority song when something happens, because Lamestream, for mostly financial reasons, is petrified of discussing the possibility that it could be China (it could!). “
The cyber hack is much bigger in the fake news media than in reality. I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control. Russia, Russia, Russia is the priority song when something happens, because Lamestream, mainly for financial reasons, is petrified of …
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2020
Trump added that “there could also have been a hit on our ridiculous voting machines during the election, which is now clear that I won a lot, making it an even more corrupt shame for the US.”
There is no plausible evidence of widespread voter fraud in the presidential election, which Trump lost to President-elect Joe Biden. Twitter flagged Trump’s tweet for misinformation.
Trump’s comments come as U.S. officials grapple with a serious breach that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, said would take “ weeks, if not months, ” to determine the total number of agencies affected by the attack and the degree of sensitivity. data and information may have been compromised. “
The hackers used advanced techniques to target government and corporate networks to steal sensitive information, Yahoo News’ Jenna McLaughlin reported. The government reportedly suspects APT29, or Advanced Persistent Threat 29, also known as Cozy Bear, a Russian hacking group affiliated with the Kremlin’s foreign intelligence service.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also attributed the attack to Russia, telling Conservative radio host Mark Levin in an interview on Friday that officials “can say quite clearly that it was the Russians who engaged in this activity,” NBC News reported.
Trump has consistently refused to take sides against Russian President Vladimir Putin. At a summit in Helsinki in 2018, he publicly accepted Putin’s denial of Russian interference, on Trump’s behalf, in the 2016 election, challenging the conclusions of US intelligence agencies and law enforcement officials.
U.S. Representative Adam Schiff, D-Calif., The Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, called Trump’s tweet on Saturday, “Another scandalous betrayal of our national security by this president. Another dishonest tweet that sounds like it could have been written in the Kremlin, ”he said. Another submissive display to Putin. And one more reason why Trump can’t leave office soon enough. “
Trump’s initial silence on the matter was criticized by Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who said in a SiriusXM radio interview on Thursday that the White House should give an “aggressive” response to the incident.
“This is almost like flying a Russian bomber flying unnoticed over the country,” he said, “including over the country’s capital, and not reacting in such an environment is truly astonishing.”
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany acknowledged the violation at a press conference on Tuesday, telling reporters that the government is “taking all necessary steps to identify and address potential issues related to the situation.”
Thumbnail Credit: Photo by Al Drago / Getty Images
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