WASHINGTON _ President Barack Obama has ordered a "full review" of computer hacks and leaks that U.S. intelligence agencies say were aimed at disrupting this year's presidential election, a top White House official said Friday.
The disclosure came after President-elect Donald Trump again dismissed an assessment by the 17 U.S. intelligence agencies that Russian authorities directed the theft and subsequent leaks from Democratic Party officials and Hillary Clinton's campaign manager before last month's election.
"We may be crossing into a new threshold, and it's incumbent upon us to take stock of that," said Lisa O. Monaco, the White House counterterrorism and Homeland Security adviser.
The report will be provided to Congress before Obama leaves office but may not be made public, Monaco said at a breakfast arranged by the Christian Science Monitor.
"The president has directed the intelligence community to conduct a full review of what happened during the 2016 election process and to capture lessons learned of that and to report to Congress," Monaco said.
She said the administration would be "very attentive to not disclosing sources and methods that may impede our ability to identify and attribute malicious actors in the future."
Trump has repeatedly dismissed claims that Russian authorities played a role in the hacks and subsequent release on WikiLeaks of thousands of emails from Democratic National Committee staff accounts and the private account of John Podesta, chairman of Clinton's campaign.
In an interview with Time Magazine published this week, Trump said he doesn't believe Russia tried to interfere with the election. "That became a laughing point, not a talking point, a laughing point," Trump said.
On Oct. 7, a joint statement from Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who leads the 17 U.S. intelligence agencies, said senior Russian officials had directed the hacks in an effort to influence the presidential race.
Using an emergency communications system set up to prevent an accidental nuclear weapon exchange, the White House also warned Russian President Vladimir Putin's government not to try to interfere with voting on election day, according to later reports. No digital disruptions were subsequently reported.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said this week that the Senate Armed Services subcommittee that he heads will investigate the Russian hacking under Putin. Several Democratic lawmakers have asked the administration to declassify more details to show why it has blamed Russia.
