Pompeo Claims Russia "Pretty Clearly" Behind Major Cyberattack On US Agencies
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has become the first top level Trump administration official to come out and specifically blame Russia for what was widely reported this week as a "massive cyberattack against multiple US federal agencies" including the agencies which oversee America's nuclear arsenal, namely the Energy Department and the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Without offering any evidence or specifics, Pompeo said Russia was "pretty clearly" behind the cyberattack during an appearance on the conservative talk radio Mark Levin Show.
"I can’t say much more, as we’re still unpacking precisely what it is, and I’m sure some of it will remain classified. But suffice it to say there was a significant effort to use a piece of third-party software to essentially embed code inside of US government systems and it now appears systems of private companies and companies and governments across the world as well," Pompeo explained.
"This was a very significant effort, and I think it’s the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity," he added.
Pompeo was then pressed on whether or not Trump is mulling a particular response, to which Pompeo responded, "a wiser course of action to protect the American people is to calmly go about your business and defend freedom."
But again noticeably absent was definitive proof from the administration that Russia was behind the hack, which was in progress for months. The slew of headlines linking Russia to the breach out this week also without fail contained language typically located deep into the stories noting proof or evidence was yet to be forthcoming.
A number of independent media pundits said this looks like possible last-ditch efforts to revive the previously failed Russiagate narrative.
The US is under attack again by Russiagate. First sentence of this article notes "many experts blame" Russia – an acknowledgment that this isn't a proven fact. Article also notes that "the president-elect did not pin blame on Russia." https://t.co/EUXIqQTP3j pic.twitter.com/bmITTGk2Z6
— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) December 18, 2020
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/pompeo-claims-russia-pretty-clearly-behind-major-cyberattack-us-agencies
Pompeo is Israel's bitch, show us the evidence