The news that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election, potentially with direction from Vladimir Putin personally, has left both sides of the political aisle quite shaken with many calling for a full review of the incident. While President-elect Donald Trump is doing all he can to discredit these claims, President Barack Obama is doubling down on his vow to take action against this kind of corruption. According to CNN, Obama has once again made his plan to take action against Russia apparent:
“I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action and we will at a time and place of our own choosing,” Obama told National Public Radio.
How many of the actual details will actually be divulged to the public remains to be seen, with President Obama saying “some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be.” According to the report, President Obama confronted Putin directly at the September G20 meeting in China. Obama told NPR, “Mr. Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it.”
Evidence from intelligence agencies of Russian interference has been discussed since October, with the White House promising a “proportional response.” However, no details have been given, and they may never be disclosed to the public.
Press Secretary Josh Earnest provided no comment during a Thursday address at the White House, saying “The President determined once the intelligence community had reached this assessment that a proportional response was appropriate. At this point, I don’t have anything to say about whether or not that response has been carried out.” It is unknown what exactly President Obama will be covering in Friday’s press conference, but Russia being a topic of interest would be a good assumption.
(Via CNN)