Obama Administration Announces Sanctions on Russia Over Election-Related Hacking

President Obama announced Thursday a new set of sanctions against Russian intelligence agencies as well as the expulsion of 35 Russian operatives from the United States in response to the country's suspected involvement in hacks related to the November election.

The government will also be closing two compounds, one in New York and one in Maryland, owned by the Russian government, that were used for both recreational purposes and by Russian intelligence agents to carry out cyber attacks. However, senior administration officials declined to provide any more details on the compounds themselves.

In the same announcement, the president said he plans to release evidence linking Russia to the cyber attacks conducted against the the Democratic National Committee. Internal communications from the DNC were hacked and released, primarily through WikiLeaks, which had the effect of embarrassing many Democrats and resulted in former chairwoman of the committee, Debbie Wasserman-Shultz, choosing to resign. Later on, John Podesta, chairman of Hillary Clinton's campaign, had his emails hacked and made public ahead of Election Day.

Officials have also made clear, however, that there's no evidence that Russia, or anyone else, tampered with the actual election results.

President-elect Donald Trump has thus far dismissed the suggestion that Russia was involved in the hacking, pushing skepticism that such knowledge might even be possible.

"It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things," Trump said in a statement Thursday afternoon. "Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation."

Trump will be in a position to repeal the sanctions when he takes office next month. If he chooses that route, it may be against the wishes of congressional Republicans - several of whom have called for even stronger sanctions.

Reports from sources in the CIA suggest that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed the cyber attacks to intentionally increase Trump's chance of becoming president.

Russia has not admitted to interfering in the election.

In addition to supporting Obama's stated belief that Russia was responsible for the attacks, which administration officials say is simply a fact not up for debate, the president hopes the release of more details will help deter and prevent future attacks.

"The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are releasing declassified technical information on Russian civilian and military intelligence service cyber activity, to help network defenders in the United States and abroad identify, detect, and disrupt Russia’s global campaign of malicious cyber activities," the statement from the White House said.

The administration has also indicated that there will be both public and covert responses to Russia's actions, emphasizing that today's announcements should not be taken as the totality of the U.S. government's response.

In a phone call with reporters, senior administration officials also stressed that the new actions against Russia are a response not only to the interference in the presidential election but also a "vicious" and sustained series of multi-pronged attacks and patterns of harassment. They said these actions escalated in the past two years, marking a steep shift from the American-Russian post-Cold War relationship.

These attacks include the harassment of American diplomats and embassy officials in Russia, which includes physical assault and detainment by police, the release of personal information on state-owned television and Russian actions to prevent American officials from defending themselves.

But the attacks have also targeted the elections of other countries, infrastructure and private companies. The administration hopes its retaliatory measures will help discourage Putin from continuing with these tactics, though it does not believe the Russian president intends to stop.

Because the steps the White House announced are executive orders, they can be undone by the president-elect once he take office. In addition to expressing skepticism about whether or not the Russians were involved in the DNC hack, Trump has also communicated that he cares little about the issue either way.

When asked about the impending sanctions, Trump said Wednesday night, "I think we ought to get on with our lives."

However, administration officials point out that since Russia has not only attacked the American democratic process but also private industry, the incoming president will likely face pressure from businesses to hold a strong line against cyber threats.

When asked about the pace of the administration's response, officials noted that the White House made public in early October, prior to the election, that Russian intelligence operations were attempting to interfere in the democratic process. However, they noted that establishing the facts and crafting an appropriate response takes time.

On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that Russia should expel 35 American diplomats in a retaliatory measure. However, Putin later said he would hold back on responding in kind until after Trump's inauguration, when the American-Russian relationship can be reevaluated.

“While we reserve the right to respond, we will not drop to this level of irresponsible diplomacy, and we will make further steps to help resurrect Russian-American relations based on the policies that the administration of Trump will pursue,” said Putin in a statement.

Photo credit: www.kremlin.ru