REP. DAVIS CALLS FOR INDEPENDENT PROBE OF ‘CHILLING’ RUSSIAN HACKING

By Chris Jennewein

Reprinted with permission from Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

January 7, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- Rep. Susan Davis on Friday called for a “truly bipartisan and independent” probe into Russian hacking during the Presidential election.

Davis, a Democrat who serves on the influential House Armed Services Committee, described the reports of Russian hacking as “chilling.”

“The reports of Russian hacking in order to influence the outcome of our Presidential election are chilling,” said Davis. “The American people have the right to know the facts surrounding these cyber attacks. The integrity of our election process is paramount.”

“There needs to be a thorough investigation into Russian influence on our election and, if necessary, safeguards put in place to protect against any future outside influence,” added Davis, whose 53 District covers much of San Diego, La Mesa, El Cajon and Chula Vista.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded with high confidence that the Russian government was directly involved with cyber attacks against the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, targeting her senior campaign officials.

President-elect Donald Trump, who was briefed on Friday by intelligence officials, said the hacking did not affect the outcome of the Nov. 8 election. He promised a plan within the first 90 days of his administration to combat cyberattacks.