The U.S. President-elect Donald Trump questioned on Thursday why the White House did not act more quickly on evidence of Russian hacking in the presidential election.
According to the report, Russian President Vladimir Putin himself was personally involved in the operation.
“If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?’’ Trump asked on Twitter.
U.S. intelligence officials have a “high level of confidence’’ that Putin was involved in directing how material acquired by hackers was leaked, NBC News reported, citing unnamed officials with access to the information.
Russian hackers accessed the email of the Democratic National Committee and top party officials, including Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta.
The emails were published by WikiLeaks in the months leading up to the November elections.
U.S. intelligence officials in October pinned the hacking on the Russian government and said the move was intended to interfere with the U.S. election.
Media reports this month said the CIA has concluded that Russians intended to help Trump win the election.
The White House has defended its decision not to take more forceful action as it sought to avoid the appearance of using the intelligence for its own political purposes. (dpa/NAN)