Obama: DNC Hacks Wouldn’t Alter Relationship With Russia

Obama: If Russia Did It, It's Just One in a 'Long List of Issues'

Speaking at a press conference today, President Barack Obama appeared to back away from claims by other Democrats that Russia was behind the hack against the DNC and the release of emails to WikiLeaks, making it very clear he wasn’t keen to discuss what evidence, if any, the US actually has.

Obama said that blaming Russia “requires us to really be able to pin down and know what we’re talking about,” suggesting he wasn’t particular\larly interested in doing that at any rate, because even if Russia did do it, it wouldn’t “wildly” alter US-Russian relations.

“If in fact Russia engaged in this activity, it’s just one on a long list of issues that me and Mr. Putin talk about,” Obama added. Other officials have suggested they are specifically not interested in assigning such blame because they don’t want to subject their evidence to any scrutiny.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton insists everyone “knows” Russia did it, and claims this might’ve been done as part of a plot to see Republican nominee Donald Trump elected. Obama himself had suggested last week that was “possible,” but now seems to be more cautious about assigning blame, even if the Clinton campaign is still making it a centerpiece of their campaign narrative.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.