Senate Armed Services Committee convenes for hearing on 'foreign cyberthreats'

The Senate Armed Services Committee convenes Thursday morning to hear testimony from U.S. intelligence officials concerning "foreign cyberthreats to the United States," The New York Times reports.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is the committee's chairman and has been vocally at odds with President-elect Donald Trump, blaming Russia for Democratic hacks during the election. Trump, citing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, has denied such claims.

The committee will hear from National Intelligence Director James Clapper Jr., Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Marcel Lettre, and Adm. Michael Rogers, of the National Security Agency and United States Cyber Command. "The point of this hearing is to have the intelligence community reinforce from their point of view that the Russians did this," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is also on the committee. McCain has warned, "You try to subvert a nation's ability to determine its leaders and its democratic process, that's an act of war."

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Democrats on the committee include Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.).