Obama administration to retaliate for suspected Russian meddling into election

The administration’s announcement comes after months of internal debate over how to respond to Russian cyber activity that United States law enforcement and intelligence agencies have watched take place for over a year.

An exact timetable was not released by the White House, but the action could take place as early as this week.

When asked directly about Graham’s suggestion about sanctions on Putin Wednesday, Trump replied, “I don’t know what he’s doing”.

“For the rest of the world, it’s like having “scumball” stamped on your forehead”, Lewis said.

President Barack Obama said December 16 that the USA will retaliate against Russian Federation at an unspecified time, in a “thoughtful, methodical way“. The Obama administration could also lead a cyber attack against Russian intelligence agencies, disrupting or manipulating their information.

“Cyber was the tool to use in the disinformation war”, he says.

NBC News has previously reported that USA intelligence officials believe “with a high level of confidence” that Russian President Vladimir Putin became personally involved in the alleged covert Russian campaign to interfere in the us presidential election.

The official compared that option to Russian military and civilian intelligence agencies providing hacked material to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks and trying – unsuccessfully, the official said – to cover their tracks.

These sanctions have played a significant role in weakening the economy of Russian Federation and helped to usher them into recession along with the well-publicized social problems they were facing, as well as the declining price of oil.

New sanctions mean that Moscow, which is already being punished economically for its military actions in Ukraine, will experience even more isolation from the worldwide community. Their demands came amid ongoing discussions among USA officials on an imminent response to alleged Russian meddling that would ensure the US takes action before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. It’s a growing threat, as hacking is increasingly a quick way to improve a nation’s economy, Kurtz said. On Wednesday, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) said during a trip to Latvia’s capital, Riga, that Moscow should expect new sanctions for allegedly interfering in the 2016 election. “The Russian defense sector would be fair game”, Harrell said.

Any sanctions implemented in the coming days could have a lasting impact on the relationship between the Trump and Putin administrations, with potential diplomatic tensions meaning the transition to office for Trump could be rockier than expected.

A bipartisan group of American Senators are calling for more sanctions against Russian Federation during a tour of Eastern Europe after intelligence agencies accused President Vladimir Putin of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.