WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — President-elect Donald Trump should place his faith in the US Intelligence Community rather than in WikiLeaks founder and head Julian Assange regarding the issue of Russian hacking of the 2016 presidential election, US Senator Lindsey Graham stated on Wednesday.
"Mr. Assange is a fugitive from the law hiding in an embassy who has a history of undermining American interest," Graham told CNN. "I hope no American will be duped by him… I hope the president-elect will get his information and trust the American patriots who work in the Intelligence Community who swear oath and allegiance to the Constitution."
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump sided with Assange and against the claims of the US Intelligence Community on the issue of the alleged Russian hacks. Trump repeated Assange's assertion that Russia did not give WikiLeaks information on the Democratic party and its officials.
A 13-page report on the issue released last week by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — seven pages of which provided recommendations – has been widely criticized for not providing proof. Moreover, the report contained a disclaimer that the DHS does not provide warranties about the truthfulness of the presented information.
Russian officials have repeatedly denied involvement in the US election, calling the hacking allegations absurd and noting that they are intended to distract the US public from revelation of corruption and other pressing domestic concerns.
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