Trump's press secretary suggests Russian sanctions were political - as the White House did nothing when the Chinese hacked millions last year
Donald Trump's incoming press secretary Sean Spicer suggested during an appearance on Morning Joe today that the White House's new sanctions against Russia were political retribution for Hillary Clinton's loss.
He pointed to the 2015 hack of the Office of Personnel Management, thought to be at the hands of Chinese hackers, noting the much stiffer punishment doled out to Russia for its role in the cyberattacks against Democratic political organizations.
'Zero was said then, when millions of people had their most sensitive information stolen by the Chinese,' Spicer pointed out. 'And yet in this case when it's political, and when it's the DNC, they act.'
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President-elect Donald Trump's incoming Press Secretary Sean Spicer floated the idea today that the new sanctions against Russia were political retribution for Hillary Clinton's loss
Speaking to Joe Scarborough (left), Sean Spicer (right) suggested the sanctions 'are more political than they are diplomatic'
On Thursday, President Obama announced new sanctions against Russia.
As part of President Obama's unprecedented action, 35 Russian diplomats were given 72 hours to leave the United States. Two Russian compounds were ordered closed. And the United States sanctioned four Russian individuals and five Russian entities citing presidential election meddling.
'Hacking is not tolerated. It is not anything we by any means condone,' Spicer said at first. 'It's illegal. It should be condemned at all costs.'
'But ... the sanctions that were imposed are at an all-time high for what this country's ever done in peacetime,' he continued.
The incoming press secretary reminded the Morning Joe panel that when Chinese hackers accessed the files of millions of government employees in 2015 'the only response of the U.S. government was to send former and current employees a letter saying you can get free credit monitoring for a year,' Spicer said.
'The question has to be asked: Was this response proportional to the act committed? And two, is it more political than diplomatic?' Spicer said.
Spicer hinted that the timeline was suspicious in regards to the second question with President Obama revealing that he knew of Russia's meddling in September, at that point telling Vladimir Putin to 'knock it off,' though not acting until this week.
'So if he knew back then that something was happening, why did they wait to do anything publicly from the U.S. government?' Spicer mused. 'Was it because they thought Hillary Clinton was definitely going to win and they didn't want to do anything?'
'The only actions they seem to have taken is, after Hillary Clinton didn't win the way they all thought she was going to ... then they realized, "Well, we've got to do something,"' Spicer maintained.
In looking at the new sanctions, Spicer said someone needs to ask the Obama administration what justifies the actions.
'But what I'm suggesting to you is that to go to this magnitude suggests that it is, at least raises the question of whether the actions are more political than they are diplomatic,' he said.
Incoming White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer wondered about the 'magnitude' of the new sanctions against Russia, announced by President Obama's White House on Thursday
Yesterday, Spicer sang a similar tune as he brought up the Chinese and questioned the 'magnitude' of President Obama's actions against Russia when speaking to Jonathan Karl on ABC's This Week.
'I think one of the questions that we have is why the magnitude of this?' Spicer said during the sit-down. 'I mean you look at 35 people being expelled, two sites being closed down, the question is, is that response in proportion to the actions taken?'
The move was something 'we haven't seen in modern history,' Spicer commented.
Karl slightly pushed back, noting that foreign diplomats have been previously kicked out of the United States.
The incoming Trump press secretary again pointed to the 2015 hack of the Office of Personnel Management, thought to be at the hands of Chinese hackers.
Millions of records of American government workers were compromised in the data breach.
'No action publicly was taken,' Spicer said. 'Nothing, nothing was taken when millions of people had their private information, including information on security clearances that was shared. Not one thing happened.'
'So there is a question about whether there's a political retribution here versus a diplomatic response,' Spicer added, suggesting the current Democratic president was hitting the Russians hard because the hacks hurt his own party's nominee, Hillary Clinton.
Karl pointed out that it sounded like the spokesman thought the White House's actions were too much.
Trump personally responded to the news of the Russian sanctions by saying, 'It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things.'
Sean Spicer (left) sat down with Jonathan Karl (right) and suggested kicking Russian diplomats out of the country and sanctioning Russian individuals and entities was unprecedented
When Russian President Vladimir Putin said he wouldn't act similarly, rather saying he would wait for Trump to take office, the president-elect complimented the foreign leader.
'Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!' Trump tweeted on Friday.
Trump also pledged to sit down with leaders of the intelligence community this week to hear evidence about Russia's role in the pre-election hacks.
'Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of situation,' Trump said.
Spicer deployed a similar line when responding to Karl.
'The President Elect needs to sit down with the heads of the intelligence communities next week and get a full briefing on what they knew, why they knew it, whether or not the Obama administration's response was in proportion to the actions taken,' the future press secretary said.
He also returned to the China comparison, railing the White House of doing nothing but sending 'everyone who had worked in the government a letter saying that you can get free monitoring of your credit.'
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, explained what he believed was the difference later on the Sunday show.
'They didn't just steal data, they weaponized it,' Schiff told Karl, speaking about the Russians. 'They dumped it during an election with the specific intent of influencing the outcomes of that election and sowing discord in the United States.'
'That's not something China has ever done,' Schiff added.
Speaking to Spicer, Karl pointed out the other Republicans – including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell – who applauded the White House's efforts, and wondered if Trump was opposing their stance.
Spicer answered in the negative, again repeating that Trump was waiting to be briefed.
'But as you saw, President Putin said he's not going to retaliate in the way he initially suggested,' Spicer pivoted. 'He wants to wait for President Trump to come in.'
'I think that that shows you the power that President Trump has,' Spicer continued.