CIA: Russians Hacked the Election to Give Trump the Win

Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported that the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign email servers were hacked into by the Russians to help Trump win the election.  And, that Vladimir Putin had personally directed the hack.  This from an anonymous source that said a handful of U.S. Senators were secretly briefed on this in a closed door session by the CIA.  But, the CIA also stressed that not all national security agencies agree on this.

So, once again, we're being fed a story from an anonymous source that can't be verified.  We don't even know what Senators were briefed.  In the era of "fake news"stories, this may just be another one. Before this latest story, the Washington Post did a hit-job on the Trump win on Thanksgiving by declaring that the Russians created "fake news" on hundreds of Internet sites in order to give Trump the win.  One has to wonder if the "Post" has an agenda here, and why they are the sole provocateur on these Russian/Trump stories.

My biggest problem is believing the whole concept of Putin wanting Trump to win. It doesn't pass the smell test.   I cannot imagine Putin preferring Trump because of all the ways in which Trump could hurt the Russian state.

First of all, Trump is a climate denier who believes that we should back off from restricting the usage of fossil fuels; especially oil.  For Russia, this is a problem since their economy is so dependent on oil.  Any increased production under a Trump presidency will lower the price and economically depress the Russian economy.

Unlike Hillary, Trump has promised to rebuild our military.  Does anyone really think Putin wants the U.S.military to get stronger and more advanced?  On top of that, Donald Trump is more likely to deploy a missile defense system in Europe.  Something that Putin does not want to happen.  Further, Trump has never once stated that he wouldn't put boots on the ground, and Hillary clearly stated that wouldn't happen in her administration. Also, Trump may ignore the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty signed by Obama without Senate approval as mandated by law.  Thus we could be on track to rebuild our nuclear weapons power.

Lastly, Trump's temperament is a great unknown with respect to how he would deal with any conflicts that occur between Russia and the U.S.   This could force Putin to give pause when attempting to take over another country or area such as Crimea. The Democrats and Hillary Clinton have long held the belief that Trump was the last person they wanted with his finger on the nuclear button.

What I'm more concerned about, is that this election could be totally discredited and Trump's win nullified.  What then?  Could Hillary sue in federal court and take the win away from Trump on the basis that he won unfairly?  Would the whole election process have to be rerun?  If so,  would Obama remain in office while that process was completed. That is certainly a possibility since he has ordered a completed intelligence review on his desk before he leaves office.  And, if the election is rerun, for sure, the voter turnout for the Democrats would be great.  This is certainly a mess that our founding fathers never anticipated as they drafted the Constitution.

References:

Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-orders-review-of-russian-hacking-during-presidential-campaign/2016/12/09/31d6b300-be2a-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?utm_term=.f799ed76f51b

CIA Concludes Russia Interfered with U.S. Election to Help Trump: http://fortune.com/2016/12/10/cia-concludes-russia-interfered-with-u-s-election-to-help-trump/

CIA: Russia Interfered With U.S. Elections: Politicians and pundits are calling for further investigation into the matter: http://www.snopes.com/2016/12/10/cia-russia-interfered-with-u-s-elections/

U.S. President Barack Obama ordered intelligence agencies to review cyber attacks and foreign intervention into the 2016 election and deliver a report before he leaves office on Jan. 20, the White House said on Friday: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-cyber-russia-idUSKBN13Z05B?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social

Oil, taxes — and big problems for Russia's economy - CNBC.com: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/01/oil-taxes--and-big-problems-for-russias-economy.html