US intel leaders testify Russia behind election hacks

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

Several senior U.S. intelligence officers testified publicly for the first time Thursday that Russian spy agencies are responsible for hacking in last year’s election, putting them at odds with President-elect Donald Trump.

Russia carried out attacks that sought to “compromise infrastructure associated with the election”, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Clapper testified alongside Adm. Michael Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency and undersecretary of Defense for intelligence Marcel Lettre.

During a back-and-forth with committee chairman Sen. John McCain, Clapper said calling Russia's actions an act of war is not a decision he should make.

The "very heavy policy call" is better left outside the intelligence community, he said. "But it certainly would carry, in my view, great gravity."

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, McCain said the action "fits the definition of an act of war, but it doesn't mean you start shooting over it".

Trump has long rejected accusations that Moscow was behind hacking during the presidential election, casting doubts on the publicly stated findings from America’s intelligence community.

U.S. intelligence agencies stated in October that Russian hackers interfered in the election to help Trump win, and that they acted on orders coming from the highest levels of the Russian government, likely pointing to President Vladimir Putin.

"We stand actually more resolutely on the strength of that statement that we made on the 7th of October," Clapper said.

Trump will be briefed Friday by intelligence officials on the matter.

Clapper said he is ready and welcomes the likely challenges Trump will pose during the meeting.

President Barack Obama has directed U.S. intelligence agencies to produce a comprehensive review on Russian hacking before he leaves office.

An unclassified version of the findings will be released to the public early next week, Clapper said.

He said the report would “push the envelope” on how much information will be brought to light.

"We'll be as forthcoming as we can, but there are some sensitive and fragile sources and methods here, which is one reason why we're reticent to talk about it in this setting," he said.

To date, the intelligence community's findings have not been backed by publicly available evidence, heightening anticipation for next week's report.

While Russia has a long track record of interfering with U.S. elections, this year's actions were unprecedented, said Clapper.

"I don’t think we’ve ever encountered a more aggressive or direct campaign to interfere in our election process than we’ve seen in this case,” he said, before adding that the activities were "much more activist” than normal spy craft.