Trump contradicts Pompeo, downplays Russia’s alleged role in US cyberattack
Trump claimed in a series of tweets that the cyberattack was 'far greater in fake news'
On Saturday, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to accuse China of a cyberattack that has affected several U.S. government agencies and companies including cybersecurity company FireEye.
Trump’s comments come after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a Friday interview that evidence “pretty clearly” points to Russia’s involvement in the cyberattack.
According to NBC News, Pompeo appeared on the Mark Levin Show where he addressed the matter.
“I can’t say much more as we’re still unpacking precisely what it is, and I’m sure some of it will remain classified,” Pompeo said. “This was a very significant effort, and I think it’s the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity.”
Trump took to social media to share his own opinions.
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“The cyber hack is far greater in the Fake News Media than in actuality. I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control. Russia, Russia, Russia is the priority chant when anything happens because Lamestream is, for mostly financial reasons, petrified of discussing the possibility that it mat be China (it may),” Trump tweeted.
He continued to oppose Pompeo and again mentioned his claims of voter fraud.
“There could also have been a hit on our ridiculous voting machines during the election, which is now obvious that I won big, making it an even more corrupted embarrassment for the USA.”
The White House was prepared to issue a statement on Friday that would’ve addressed Russia as “the main actor” but were told to stand down.
NBC News also reported that the cyberattack occurred as early as March but was just discovered this month.
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Kevin Mandia, CEO of FireEye, issued a statement via the company’s blog called it “an attack by a nation with top-tier offensive capabilities.”
“We are actively investigating in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other key partners, including Microsoft,” Mandia said. “Their initial analysis supports our conclusion that this was the work of a highly sophisticated state-sponsored attacker utilizing novel techniques.”
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