Donald Trump, who says WikiLeaks didn't sway the election, discussed WikiLeaks 164 times in closing weeks

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

On Friday, in its unclassified report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, the FBI, NSA, and CIA concluded that Russian President Vladimir "Putin and the Russian government aspired to help President-elect Trump's election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him," and that Russian military intelligence "relayed material to WikiLeaks," then "used trolls as well as RT as part of its influence efforts to denigrate Secretary Clinton," an effort that "amplified stories on scandals about Secretary Clinton and the role of WikiLeaks in the election campaign."

Trump was particularly interested in asserting that even if Russia (and "China, other countries, outside groups, and people") did hack Democrats and the Clinton campaign, it didn't affect the election.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

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.