Paul Ryan says Russia 'clearly tried to meddle' in the election, but Trump won 'fair and square'

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published 6 January 2017

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) issued a strong statement against Russia on Friday, shortly after the CIA, FBI, and NSA released a declassified report on Russian hacking during the U.S. presidential election. "Russia has a track record of working against our interests, and they clearly tried to meddle in our political system," Ryan said in a statement. "I strongly condemn outside interference in our elections, which we must work to prevent moving forward."

In the second paragraph of his statement, Ryan echoed President-elect Donald Trump's statement from earlier Friday, in which he maintained Russia had "absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election." Ryan, like Trump, also reiterated that no evidence indicates Russia interfered in the "voting or balloting process." "We cannot allow partisans to exploit this report in an attempt to delegitimize the president-elect's victory," Ryan said. "Donald Trump won this election fair and square because he heard the voices of Americans who felt forgotten."