Obama Administration to Announce Responses to Russian Cyber Attacks

Reuters reports, citing U.S. government officials, that they plan to announce on Thursday (U.S. time) the measures taken in response to "Russian cyber attacks" during the presidential election campaign in the United States. Two Obama administration officials stated on December 29 that a "set of retaliatory actions" is being considered against what they describe as "Russian hacking attacks on political mechanisms and individuals in the U.S. to steal information and use it to influence the electoral process." From the perspective of U.S. officials and several senior Republican figures, these attacks were conducted to benefit Donald Trump - the Republican candidate - and harm Hillary Clinton - his Democratic rival. However, Republican officials also state that this does not undermine the victory of their party's candidate. Both officials speaking to Reuters indicated that targeted sanctions, criminal charges, and the release of information found against Russian officials or oligarchs from that country are among the steps that will be taken. These officials, who were not named, refrained from providing more detailed information. Barack Obama, the President of the United States, stated in an interview with NPR in the last week of December that his administration would take practical action in response to Russia's interference in the U.S. elections through cyber attacks. Earlier reports indicated that the CIA, in an intelligence assessment, stated that Russia had "interfered" with the aim of helping Donald Trump in the elections. Shortly after that, Republican leaders in Congress announced their support for investigations into the CIA's report on Russia's "interventions" in the presidential election campaign. Russia has consistently denied these allegations. Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States, has previously stated that he does not believe the intelligence agencies' reports. He also accused the Democratic Party of trying to find justification for one of its biggest defeats with these actions. Meanwhile, Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican senator, announced that he is preparing "severe sanctions against Russia" that will be "on President Trump's desk." On December 29, Trump himself, in response to a question regarding potential actions against Russia and Senator Graham's statements, said, "I think computers have made life very complicated. The computer age has made it impossible to know exactly what the issue is. The speed is high, many other things have happened, but I don't think we have the necessary security." Trump also stated that he does not know what Senator Graham is doing and has not spoken to him. Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, has previously stated that any economic sanctions will face a reciprocal response from Russia.