Trump spokesman says there's 'zero evidence' Russia influenced presidential election
A top Donald Trump spokesman insisted Monday that there is still 'zero evidence' America's presidential election was swayed by a series of computer hacks attributed to the Russian government.
The U.S. intelligence community appears to be closing in on a conclusion that Moscow directed hackers to penetrate and steal documents from the Democratic National Committee this year. Democrats also claim Russians hacked into Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's email account.
But Sean Spicer, Trump's incoming White House press secretary, said on 'Fox & Frience' that 'rushing to judgment on something like this is not in anyone's best interests.'
Incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday morning that there is still 'zero evidence' America's presidential election was swayed by a Russian computer hacks
President-elect Donald Trump said on New Year's Eve that new answers about Moscow's alleged involvement will be made public on Tuesday or Wednesday
'Whether or not they were hacked, and [Russians] did anything, is a completely different story. The way the mainstream media is playing this up is that they had an influence in the election,' Spicer said.
'There is zero evidence that they actually influenced the election.'
'And I think that's what we've got to get away from,' he said, 'is allowing the narrative to become whether or not the DNC and other entities didn't have lax security, and whether or not there was an entity that actually influenced our election.'
Fox co-host Ed Henry pointed to a brief cyber security memo issued last week by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, describing computer intrusions at the DNC committed by hacking groups tied to Russian intelligence services.
Spicer said that the '13-page report is more of a how-to manual for the DNC as to how they can improve their IT security.'
Spicer also commented on claims the president-elect made on New Year's Eve about soon-to-be-released intelligence that he suggested will prove inconclusive about Russian fingerprints on the cyber attacks.
Spicer told 'Fox & Friends' hosts that last week's cyber security memo from the FBI and Homeland Security Department is a 'how-to manual for the DNC' to 'improve their IT security'
'I think it's unfair if they don't know. And I know a lot about hacking. And hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So it could be someone else,' Trump said at his oceanside Mar-a-Lago resort club in Florida.
'And I also know things that other people don't know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation.'
Asked what his secret knowledge consists of, Trump said: 'You'll find out on Tuesday or Wednesday.'
Spicer said Monday that the president-elect 'is privy to information that nobody else has' and 'what he is driving at is the fact that there doesn't seem to be conclusive evidence within the intelligence community.'