When asked by Time if the conclusion reached by U.S. officials was motivated by politics, Donald Trump responded, “I think so.” | AP Photo Trump: I don't believe Russia interfered with the election

President-elect Donald Trump is freshly casting doubt on the idea that Russia was behind the election-related hacks into Democratic entities, and said the conclusion by U.S. agencies that the Kremlin played a role was politically driven.

“I don’t believe it. I don’t believe they interfered,” Trump said in an interview with Time magazine, which named him person of the year.


Trump has steadfastly refused to say that Russian President Vladimir Putin or his agencies played any role in the hack of the Democratic National Committee and the private email account of John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman.

When asked by Time if the conclusion reached by U.S. officials was motivated by politics, Trump responded, “I think so.”

While it’s unclear how much of an impact the intrusions had on the election outcome, the revelations proved embarrassing for the Democratic Party and cost DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz her job at the top of the committee.

U.S. agencies in October formally accused Russia of hacking into American computers and meddling with the election process, but Putin pushed back against the notion and said discovering the actual culprit was “unimportant.”

Democrats are continuing to press for more information about the hacks. Party leaders are urging the Obama administration to provide a briefing on the matter, while Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) plan to introduce legislation on Wednesday "to take action on evidence of foreign interference in the 2016 U.S. elections."

