Russia and Putin · 2016 campaign · № 23

On Russia

Asked about sanctioning Russia for election hacking, said 'we ought to get on with our lives'

“I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly, the whole you know age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what's going on”
Said
, Remarks to reporters at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida
Subject
Sanctions over hacking
Type
Sanctions and pressure
Topic
Elections
Era
2016 campaign

What happened

Asked whether the United States should sanction Russia over the hacking, Trump replied, 'I think we ought to get on with our lives,' before adding the remark above and 'I'm not sure you have the security that you need.' He said he had not spoken with Sen. Lindsey Graham, who had proposed sanctions on Putin personally. The next day President Obama sanctioned the GRU and FSB, four GRU officers and three companies, declared 35 Russian intelligence operatives persona non grata and closed two Russian compounds in Maryland and New York. Trump's statement in response said: 'It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things. Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation.' On New Year's Eve he told reporters, 'I know a lot about hacking, and hacking is a very hard thing to prove, so it could be somebody else.'

Sources

  1. Trump on sanctions against Russia: 'We ought to get on with our lives' NBC News, Dec 29, 2016
  2. Statement by the President on Actions in Response to Russian Malicious Cyber Activity and Harassment The White House (Obama administration archive), Dec 29, 2016
  3. Statement From President-Elect Donald J. Trump on the Announcement of Sanctions Against Russia The American Presidency Project, Dec 29, 2016
  4. Trump still not sold on Russian link to hacking PBS NewsHour (Associated Press), Jan 2, 2017