Trump again doubts US intelligence on Russian hacking

President-elect Donald Trump says it's "unfair" of the US to accuse Russia of hacking adding that he will elaborate more on what he knows of the accusations later in the week.

Donald Trump

President-elect Donald Trump Source: AAP

President-elect Donald Trump again cast doubt on a US intelligence finding that Russia meddled in the US election through computer hacking, a conclusion that led to US sanctions against Moscow.

"Well, I just want them to be sure, because it's a pretty serious charge, and I want them to be sure," Trump told reporters at his estate in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
He noted that US intelligence had erred when it said Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction -- the pretext for the US-led invasion in 2003 -- calling this "a disaster, and they were wrong".

He said it was "unfair" of the United States to accuse Russia of hacking if there was any doubt.

"And I know a lot about hacking. And hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So it could be somebody else. And I also know things that other people don't know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation," Trump said.

Asked what he knew that others did not, Trump said, "You’ll find out on Tuesday or Wednesday."

Trump was also asked how important cybersecurity would be to his administration after he takes power on January 20.

Trump said: "It's very important. If you have something really important, write it out and have it delivered by courier, the old fashioned way because I'll tell you what, no computer is safe. I don't care what they say, no computer is safe."

Share
Published 1 January 2017 3:46pm
Source: AFP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world