Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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Obama ordered a report on foreign interventions in the 2016 elections.<ref name=cnnobamaorder /> [[United States Senate|U.S. Senators]] called for a [[bipartisan]] investigation.<ref name=schumercalls /> [[President-elect of the United States|President-elect]] [[Donald Trump]] initially rejected the report, saying that [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] were reacting to their election loss,<ref name=nicholasfandos /> and attacked the intelligence agencies in a [[Presidential transition of Donald Trump|transition team]] statement.<ref name=trumpsteammocks /> [[Senate Majority Leader]] Republican [[Mitch McConnell]] expressed confidence in U.S. intelligence and supported a bipartisan investigation,<ref name=nprmcconnell /> which was started by the [[Senate Intelligence Committee]] on January 24, 2017.<ref name=senate-inquiry-start /> On December 29, 2016, the U.S. expelled 35 Russian [[diplomat]]s, denied access to two Russia-owned compounds, and broadened existing sanctions on Russian entities and individuals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-punishes-russia-over-election-hacking-with-sanctions-1483039178|title=U.S. Sanctions Russia Over Election Hacking; Moscow Threatens to Retaliate|first1=Carol E.|last1=Lee|first2=Paul|last2=Sonne|date=December 30, 2016|publisher=|via=Wall Street Journal}}</ref>

Since July 2016 Donald Trump's team has issued at least twenty denials concerning communications between his campaign and Russian officials.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/02/trump-teams-many-many-denials-contacts-russia/98625780/]</ref> These have turned out to be false as at least half a dozen of Trump associates or advisers had had such "repeated and constant" contacts.<ref>[[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/09/opinion/connecting-trumps-dots-to-russia.html]</ref> Meetings in Europe between Russian officials and Trump associates have been documented by British and Dutch governments, as well as by conversations among Kremlin backed Russian politicians recorded by American intelligence services. Several of Trump advisers and appointees, including [[Michael Flynn]] and [[Jeff Sessions]], have subsequently admitted to such contacts after having initially denied them.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/us/politics/obama-trump-russia-election-hacking.html]</ref>

== Background ==