Top adviser says Trump is an 'expert' in 'weaving around' the issues


James Woolsey, a former CIA director and an adviser to Donald Trump on national security issues, said Monday that he believes the Russians participated in election-related hacking, and it's quite likely others were involved, too.
"It's often not foolproof to say who it is because it is possible and sometimes easy to hide your tracks," he told CNN's Jim Sciutto. "There's lots of tricks." Despite intelligence agencies saying that Russia is responsible for the politically damaging hacking against Democrats, Trump and many of his aides have cast doubt on that consensus, and when Sciutto asked Woolsey if Trump is playing the media with his comments on culpability, the former CIA chief said maybe, adding that Trump is an "expert in weaving around" on issues. "Sometimes people may have been talking to somebody in the National Security Agency and have an idea that maybe it was one type of hacking rather than another."
A U.S. intelligence official told CNN that the United States has traced the hack to specific keyboards with Cyrillic characters, which were used to construct the malware code. While in the country of Georgia, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) promised that Congress will hold hearings on the cyber attacks when back in session later this month. "It's clear that Russia has attacked the United States of America," he said. "All of our intelligence agencies will affirm that that's been the case. We will work in the Congress to have stronger sanctions in order to prevent further attacks."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checks
Speed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for Arizona
Speed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year
-
US inflation jumps as Trump tariffs 'bite'
Speed Read Consumer prices are climbing and the inflation rate rose to its highest level in four months
-
SCOTUS greenlights mass DOE firings
Speed Read The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to further shrink the Education Department
-
Cuomo announces third-party run for NYC mayor
Speed Read He will go up against progressive Democratic powerhouse Zohran Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shooting
Speed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters