President Obama is ordering a “full review” of Russia’s alleged efforts to undermine the 2016 presidential election through hacking and disinformation, according to remarks by a White House advisor Friday morning.Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Adviser Lisa Monaco said the result of the review will be shared with some members of Congress, though she wasn’t clear about whether they will be made public, according to Politico. It’s expected to be completed before Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.“That’s going to be first and foremost a determination that’s made by the intelligence community,” Monaco said at a breakfast in D.C. organized by the Christian Science Monitor. “We want to do, so very attentive to not disclosing sources and methods that may impede our ability to identify and attribute malicious actors in the future.”Over the past few months, intelligence officials — including NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and CIA chief John Brennan — have all accused Russia of attempting to interfere with U.S. elections. Evidence they point to includes the leaked emails of the Democratic National Committee in July, and the trove of emails released by WikiLeaks over the summer.In a rare jointly written letter, issued in early October, all the major intelligence agencies said they believe “based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.”More recently, government officials have reportedly said they believe Russia’s involvement extends beyond email hacks to include disseminating fake news on social media.Suspicions that electronic voting machines were tampered with led Green Party nominee Jill Stein to pursue recounts in three swing states: Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
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