WASHINGTON — Elected officials and others in Washington warn that the CIA’s assessment of Russian involvement in the presidential election should not be considered the last word.
Both the FBI and the director of national intelligence, however, reached different conclusions and lawmakers and officials appear irritated that some are using politics to undermine the little information from the intelligence community that has gone public.
New York Republican Rep. Peter King, chairman of the Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee, told reporters Thursday he never heard anything from the CIA in regards to allegations that Russia tampered with the presidential election.
“To me what happened has been disgraceful. Whatever conclusion they want to come up with is one thing. There is no CIA conclusion. The CIA has repeatedly told us that they have no idea what the intent was, if there is an intent it’s to disrupt the election, create confusion and cast a cloud over the winner. And right now, certain elements of the media, certain elements of the intelligence community and certain politicians are really doing the work of the Russians. They’re creating this uncertain over the election,” King said.