Donald Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway pushed back Monday against claims that Russian government hackers purposely intervened in last month's election in order to help the president-elect defeat Hillary Clinton.

And she defended likely secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson, the ExxonMobil CEO whose ties with Moscow have made him the Washington establishment's punching-bag.

'It's not like he's pounding down vodka with Vladimir Putin at the local bar,' Conway said of Tillerson, telling ABC's 'Good Morning America' that his dealmaking with oil-producing countries would be an asset to the Trump administration.

'It's not like he's pounding down vodka with Vladimir Putin at the local bar,' Kellyanne Conway said Monday of likely secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson

Tillerson has been accused of being too chummy with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Conway said the two men know each other only 'in a business context'

Tillerson 'has dealt with Russia for many years,' Conway said, adding that he has dealt with Putin 'in a business context.'

'We know we don't have a good relationship with many countries around the world, including Russia,' she insisted.

'If, as secretary of state, Rex Tillerson or whomever the president-elect chooses ... if he can go ahead and improve relationships and advance American interests and advance the Trump doctrine, then we should all welcome that,' Conway added.

She noted that Tillerson 'has been at Exxon for 41 years, employs 70,000 people [and] is in charge of a $320 billion global corporation.'

'We want somebody who's already accustomed to negotiating,' she added on NBC's 'Today' show.

'Because he's an oil man. He's been in Yemen and China and Russia and in the developing world, and in the Middle East, certainly.'

Trump tweeted Sunday that '[w]hether I choose him or not for "State" - Rex Tillerson, the Chairman & CEO of ExxonMobil, is a world class player and dealmaker.'

Conway praised Tillerson on ABC, saying that he 'has been at Exxon for 41 years, employs 70,000 people [and] is in charge of a $320 billion global corporation.

'We want somebody who's already accustomed to negotiating' she added on NBC's 'Today' show

Conway also defended Trump on ABC against complaints that he is minimizing the reported conclusions of the CIA about Russia's involvement in email hacks that revealed damaging information about Hillary Clinton's campaign.

She said that while the president-elect accepts that Moscow may have been involved in the hacking, he disputes 'the specific conclusion that what Russia did led to his victory and Hillary Clinton's defeat. That's where our beef is.'

'Let's be fair. That's what this is for many people. First it was [FBI Director] Jim Comey's fault. Then let's have a recount that wasted millions of dollars and everybody's time that went nowhere,' she said. 'Then it's Russian interference.'

'How about it just was Hillary Clinton and the message?'

'The president-elect does not want interference into our politics. But we also don't want politics into the interference of our intelligence,' Conway said.