Dem Rep: Russia hacking U.S. election 'not open to debate'

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) on Monday said that Russia’s hacking of the United States presidential election “is not open to debate.”

“This is not a fact that is in dispute by any of our 17 intelligence agencies, and I’ve been in the room, as have my colleagues,” Himes told CNN’s “New Day.”

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“There is one person who believes that this is still in dispute, who believes this is some kind of bizarre Democratic plot, and that’s, of course, the president-elect, Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE.”

“But the idea that Russia hacked our election is not open to debate anymore,” Himes added.

The Washington Post reported Friday that Russia meddled in the United States presidential election in an effort to help Trump win.

Trump’s transition team responded to the report by criticizing the CIA for its intelligence assessment during the lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. It’s now time to move on and ‘Make America Great Again,’ ” the statement said.

Trump’s Electoral College victory was actually historically close, ranking as just outside the 10 closest finishes in U.S. history. He also lost the popular vote by more than 2.7 million. 

Himes noted that while intelligence is “always a little uncertain,” Russia’s hack “is not uncertain.”

“And sadly, Speaker Ryan and Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote GOP senator to try to reverse requirement that Pentagon remove Confederate names from bases No, ‘blue states’ do not bail out ‘red states’ MORE, and others are not standing up and saying the president cannot, in the face of adversaries, criticize the United States intelligence community,” he added, referencing House Speaker Paul RyanPaul Davis RyanBush, Romney won’t support Trump reelection: NYT Twitter joins Democrats to boost mail-in voting — here’s why Lobbying world MORE (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

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