U.S. spies reportedly caught top Russian officials patting themselves on the back after Trump's win


An unclassified version of the 50-page report on Russian hacking delivered to President Obama on Thursday is expected to be released to the public on Monday. Until then, unidentified intelligence officials are parceling out some highlights to the news media. The biggest piece of news is probably that U.S. intelligence agencies have reportedly identified the individuals who passed hacked Democratic emails from Russia to WikiLeaks, which then published them before the election. But U.S. officials also told The Washington Post, NBC News, and CNN that intercepted conversations showed Russian officials celebrating the election results and congratulating themselves on Donald Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton.
"The Russians felt pretty good about what happened on Nov. 8 and they also felt pretty good about what they did," a senior U.S. official tells The Washington Post. The signals intelligence on the Kremlin celebrating Trump's win was just one of several bits of data that convinced U.S. intelligence that Russia's eventual goal in the election hacking was to help elect Trump, not just disrupt the U.S. election, and there is no intercepted conversation that is a "smoking gun" on Russia's intentions, officials tell CNN.
Other tools Russia relied on included social media and "fake news" platforms, both used as an "accelerant" to help Trump and hurt Clinton, a second official tells The Washington Post, adding that the intercepted communiqués show that Russian officials "were as surprised as the rest of the world" that Trump actually won. A "senior U.S. intelligence official with direct knowledge" confirmed to NBC News that senior Russian officials were captured celebrating Trump's win, as The Post reported, but only because "the official felt that the details the paper chose focused too much on the Russian celebration and not enough on the thrust of the report." You can watch NBC's report on that broader thrust below. Peter Weber
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
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation
Speed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
-
Trump arms National Guard in DC, threatens other cities
speed read His next targets are Chicago, New York and Baltimore
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfully
Speed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Speed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by Trump
Speed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Israel starts Gaza assault, approves West Bank plan
Speed Read Israel forces pushed into the outskirts of Gaza City and Netanyahu's government gave approval for a settlement to cut the occupied Palestinian territory in two
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutional
Speed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for rifles
Speed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago