Trump Says Authorized Cyberattack On Russia's Internet Research Agency In 2018

Trump Says Authorized Cyberattack on Russia's Internet Research Agency in 2018

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th July, 2020) US President Donald Trump confirmed to The Washington Post that he had authorized a cyberattack on Russia's internet Research Agency in 2018.

Earlier this week, Trump told the columnist of The Washington Post, Marc Thiessen, that he had ordered the 2018 cyberattack on the Internet Research Agency, which is accused by the United States of spearheading the interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

"Correct," Trump told The Washington Post, answering the question, whether he had launched the 2018 cyberattack.

The US president stressed that nobody had been tougher on Russia than him.

"[Former President Barack Obama] knew before the election that Russia was playing around. Or, he was told. Whether or not it was so or not, who knows? And he said nothing.

And the reason he said nothing was that he didn't want to touch it because he thought [Hillary Clinton] was winning because he read phony polls. So, he thought she was going to win. And we had the silent majority that said, 'No, we like Trump,'" Trump added.

On April 18, 2019, the US Justice Department released the final report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into allegations of Trump-Russia collusion and Russian interference in the US election. The special counsel found no collusion between Russian officials and Trump's campaign but said that Moscow attempted to interfere in the election.

Russia has repeatedly refuted the accusations, saying it has never meddled in the US internal affairs.