■ The Russian practice of planting “fake news” was an election-year propaganda tactic that remains in use, Mr. Clapper said.
Intelligence Officials Testify About U.S. Cyber Security
At a Senate hearing, intelligence officials said Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, should not be given credibility.
Photo by Stephen Crowley/The New York Times.
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Difference between ‘healthy skepticism’ and ‘disparagement’
Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, was the first to take direct aim at Mr. Trump, wondering aloud “who benefits from a president-elect trashing the intelligence community.”
Mr. Clapper said pointedly that there was “a difference between healthy skepticism” — a phrase Vice President-elect Mike Pence used in defending Mr. Trump’s criticism of the intelligence agencies — and “disparagement.”
“The intelligence community is not perfect,” Mr. Clapper added. “We are an organization of human beings and we’re prone sometimes to make errors.” But he referred to the wall of stars in the C.I.A. lobby commemorating the deaths of agency officers on duty and said the agencies’ efforts to keep the country safe were not always appreciated.
Ms. McCaskill said there would be “howls from the Republican side of the aisle” if a Democrat had spoken about intelligence officials as Mr. Trump has.
“Thank you for that nonpartisan comment,” joked Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona and chairman of the committee.
Intelligence officials say Assange deserves no credibility
Mr. McCain steered the conversation to Mr. Assange, saying, “I believe he is the one who’s responsible for publishing the names of individuals who work for us who put us in direct danger.”
“Do you think there’s any credibility we should attach to this individual?” Mr. McCain asked.
“Not in my view,” Mr. Clapper replied.
Mr. McCain turned to Adm. Michael S. Rogers, a leader of the National Security Agency and United States Cyber Command. “I would second those comments,” Admiral Rogers said.
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Asked by Mr. McCain whether hacking the American elections would be an attack on the United States, Mr. Clapper demurred. “Whether that constitutes an act of war is a very heavy call that I don’t think the intelligence community should make,” he said. But he called it a matter of “great gravity.”
Mr. McCain was sharply critical of what he described as the Obama administration’s failure to devise a clear-cut policy of deterrence and retaliation for cyberattacks, saying that at times the United States government appeared to be a “bystander.”
Pebbles or rocks?
Mr. Graham, Republican of South Carolina, asked Mr. Clapper if the intelligence community was prepared for “being challenged” by the president-elect at a briefing on Friday. “Are you ready for the task?” Mr. Graham asked. “I think so,” Mr. Clapper said dryly, adding that he and his colleagues were glad to be challenged and ready to explain their views.
Mr. Graham said the Obama administration had lobbed mere “pebbles” at Russia in retaliation for the interference. “When it comes to interfering with our election, we better be ready to throw rocks,” he said.
Mr. Graham also made clear that Republicans could well become the target of cyberattacks next time. “Could it be Republicans next election?” he said. “It’s not like we’re so much better at cybersecurity than Democrats.”
What about ‘fake news’?
Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking Democrat, asked if the dissemination of “fake news” was part of the Russian effort to influence the election. Mr. Clapper said it was, calling the attack “a multifaceted campaign.”
“The hacking was only one part of it,” Mr. Clapper said. “And it also entailed classical propaganda, disinformation, fake news.”
“Does that continue?” Mr. Reed asked. Mr. Clapper said yes.
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The Russian Hacking in 200 Words
President Obama announced sanctions against Russia for trying to influence the 2016 election through cyberattacks. Here’s what led to the sanctions.
Senator offers a defense of Trump
Perhaps the closest to a defense of Mr. Trump came from Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas. Noting “imprecise language” stating that Russia “hacked the election,” Mr. Cotton referred to Mr. Clapper’s Oct. 7 statement on the matter and pressed him to be more specific about the agencies’ findings.
Mr. Cotton also suggested that the conventional wisdom that Mr. Putin favored Mr. Trump over Hillary Clinton might be wrong. Mr. Trump promised a stronger military and more American oil and gas production — policies Mr. Cotton suggested would not be to Russia’s advantage.
Public must wait for new information on hackings
Mr. Clapper suggested that he would not be unveiling major new inside information on the intelligence agencies’ conclusion that the Russian government had directed the interference in the election.
Mr. Clapper said he knew there was “great interest” in Russian interference in the election, but he indicated that public curiosity might have to wait for the release of an unclassified report on the matter early next week. President Obama is being briefed today on the full, classified report, and Mr. Trump will get an identical briefing on Friday.
While keeping any scoops about the Russian attack for next week’s release, Mr. Clapper did promise to “push the envelope” in declassifying as much detail as possible, including the motive of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in carrying it out. “We’ll be as forthcoming as we can, but there are some fragile and sensitive sources and methods here,” he said.
Mr. Clapper offered no new details but said that “our assessment now is even more resolute” that the Russians carried out the attack on the election. He confirmed that there was no Russian hacking that altered the actual vote count and repeated that it was not the agencies’ job to assess the political impact of information released by Russian agents.
What comes next?
Though senators from both parties, led by Mr. McCain and Mr. Graham on the Republican side, have called for a select committee to investigate Russian interference in the election, Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, has said a select committee was unnecessary.
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The Senate Intelligence Committee is “more than capable of conducting a complete review,” Mr. McConnell said last month, adding that Mr. McCain could also conduct an investigation on the Armed Services Committee.
