"If you listen to what Mr. Trump had to say on the stump all the time, he invoked WikiLeaks dozens and dozens of times to try to suggest that WikiLeaks said there were things that Hillary Clinton was doing or had done that were untoward," CNN's Jake Tapper said to Kellyanne Conway, incoming White House counselor, in an interview Sunday. "So I guess what I'm confused about is how can you say that the hacking had no impact on the election when Mr. Trump kept invoking WikiLeaks, which was printing, publishing things that the Russians had hacked? Obviously he thought it was going to have an effect on the election."
Conway deflected, arguing President-elect Donald Trump did not and could not know the source of the leaks he cited during the campaign, and that the issue is irrelevant anyway because the leaks did not successfully influence the vote. "Even if you read The New York Times and The Washington Post, cyber experts are saying that WikiLeaks did not succeed," she said. Finally, Conway added, "with all due respect to Hillary Clinton, we didn't need WikiLeaks to convince the American people they didn't like her, didn't trust her, didn't find her to be honest. She did that all on her own."
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.
-
Music reviews: Bon Iver, Valerie June, and The WaterboysFeature "Sable, Fable," "Owls, Omens, and Oracles," "Life, Death, and Dennis Hopper"
-
Are bonds worth investing in?the explainer They can diversify your portfolio and tend to be a safer investment than stocks
-
Elon has his 'Legion.' How will Republicans encourage other Americans to have babies?Today's Big Question The pronatalist movement finds itself in power
-
Musk vows DOGE pullback as Tesla profits plungeSpeed Read The Tesla SEO says he will soon step back from government matters to devote more time to the company
-
IMF sees slump from tariffs, Trump tries to calm marketsSpeed Read The International Monetary Fund predicts the U.S. and global economies will slow significantly due to the president's trade war
-
DHS chief Kristi Noem's purse stolen from eaterySpeed Read Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's purse was stolen while she dined with family at a restaurant in Washington, D.C.
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reportsSpeed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
-
Hegseth reportedly shared war plans in 2nd group textSpeed Read The defense secretary sent information about an attack in Yemen to a Signal group chat that included his wife and brother
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contemptSpeed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cutsSpeed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deporteeSpeed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
