On Capitol Hill, top intelligence officials told a receptive audience of both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate Armed Services Committee that Russia sought to meddle in November’s election through a series of hacks and leaks. This is James Clapper, the outgoing director of national intelligence.
James Clapper: “Russia has clearly assumed an even more aggressive cyberposture by increasing cyber-espionage operations, leaking data stolen from these operations, and targeting critical infrastructure systems.”
Critics including journalist Glenn Greenwald question the case that Russia interfered in November’s election. And James Clapper has previously lied during sworn testimony to Congress. In March 2013, Clapper was asked by Sen. Ron Wyden, “Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?” to which he replied, “No, sir.” Clapper later defended himself by claiming he had answered the question in the “least untruthful manner.” Later today, Donald Trump is set to meet with Clapper, along with CIA Director John Brennan and FBI Director James Comey, who say they’ll present evidence to the president-elect that Russian hackers meddled in November’s election.