The Note: Trump vs. the C.I.A.
— -- NOTABLES
--TRUMP TEAM PUSHES BACK ON REPORTS RUSSIAN HACKERS SOUGHT TO SWAY ELECTION: President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team pushed back over the weekend against reporting that the CIA has evidence showing the Russian government interfered with the 2016 presidential election in an attempt to sway the race for Trump, ABC’s MERIDITH MCGRAW and JUSTIN FISHEL report. “These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction,” according to a statement from the transition team. U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence confirmed to ABC News that Russians hacked the computer systems of both Republicans and Democrats but leaked information only from Democrats’ accounts. However, intelligence officials told ABC News that the fact that only Democrats’ information was released isn’t enough to prove the motivations of the Russian actors. http://abcn.ws/2hqI02U
--CONWAY SAYS PRESIDENT-ELECT 'DOESN'T WANT INTERFERENCE IN OUR POLITICS': Adviser Kellyanne Conway today sought to clarify Trump's rejection of claims that Russia had sought to tip the balance in the U.S. presidential election by saying that "the president-elect doesn't want interference into our politics," and that he also doesn't want "politics to interfere with our intelligence." Conway also suggested on “Good Morning America” that the Democrats had attempted to "politicize" the allegations of Russian interference to obscure the fact that Hillary Clinton and her party had failed to win over voters who proved to be critical in pushing Trump to victory. "How about it was just Hillary Clinton and the message?" Conway, Trump’s former campaign manager, said this morning. More from ABC’s MICHAEL EDISON HAYDEN: http://abcn.ws/2hfoHJ9
--WHAT TRUMP IS TWEETING:
@realDonaldTrump: Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory!
@realDonaldTrump: Unless you catch "hackers" in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election?
--ANALYSIS -- ABC’s RICK KLEIN: How does this end well? Intelligence officials are coming forward to suggest that the Russians sought to interfere with the election. The president-elect’s response? “Ridiculous,” Donald Trump said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I don’t believe it.” Setting aside motives, it appears Russian entities succeeded in hacking DNC accounts, and tried to do the same on the Republican side. The president-elect? He appears close to naming a secretary of state who has a closer relationship with Vladimir Putin than perhaps any other private American citizen. The storyline of attempted Russian interference has troubling implications for American democracy, and governance in the Trump era. So far, Trump isn’t engaging in that conversation – viewing it instead as politics as usual, and an attempt to threaten his legitimacy as president-elect. If the Russians have more to leak, they have potential leverage over the new administration. Even if they don’t, they’ve already won a round: They have American politicians at odds over a relationship that figures to tip in Russia’s favor.
SPEED READ with ABC’s VERONICA STRACQUALURSI
PRIEBUS: ‘RNC WAS NOT HACKED.’ Republican National Committee Chairman and incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus pushed back on a New York Times report that the RNC was hacked by Russians, saying that it is "absolutely not true" and even denied an earlier assessment from all 17 intelligence agencies that Russia was seeking to interfere with the U.S. election process. "We contacted the FBI months ago when the [alleged hacking of the Democratic National Committee] issue came about. They reviewed all of our systems. We have hacking-detection systems in place, and the conclusion was then, as it was again two days ago when we went back to the FBI to ask them about this, that the RNC was not hacked," Priebus said Sunday on ABC News' "This Week." ABC’s NICKI ROSSOLL has more. http://abcn.ws/2gsbhdv
WHERE TRUMP CRITICS SEE CONFLICTS, PARTNERS SEE GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES. For President-elect Donald Trump’s global business partners, the deals that some have called a conflict of interest are looking a lot like money in the bank. “His brand has become stronger, more global,” said Hussain Sajwani, the chairman of a Dubai company that is preparing early next year to open the clubhouse for the first of two 18-hole Trump golf course developments. “We definitely are benefiting from that – the strength of that brand.” ABC’s MATTHEW MOSK, BRIAN ROSS and CHO PARK have more. http://abcn.ws/2hAp7qa
TRUMP SAYS HE DOESN’T NEED DAILY INTELLIGENCE BRIEFINGS THAT SAY ‘SAME THING’ EVERY DAY. President-elect Trump said he doesn't need presidential intelligence briefings every day because he is "a smart person" and doesn't "have to be told the same thing in the same words" every day. Trump in an interview on Fox News Sunday that was taped Saturday was asked about reports that he is getting the presidential daily intelligence briefing only about once a week rather than every day, ABC’s ALEXANDER MALLIN notes. "I get it when I need it," Trump said. "These are very good people that are giving me the briefings," he said, but added, "You know, I'm, like, a smart person. I don't have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years ... I don't need that. But I do say, 'If something should change, let us know.'" http://abcn.ws/2gAjHhv
PRIEBUS: ‘PREMATURE’ TO SAY TILLERSON FOR SECRETARY OF STATE IS A ‘DONE DEAL.’ RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, who is slated to become President-elect Trump's chief of staff, yesterday praised ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who has emerged as the likely pick for secretary of state. But Priebus cautioned that it's a "little premature to be claiming" the secretary of state choice for the incoming Trump administration is a "done deal," ABC’s NICKI ROSSOLL notes. http://abcn.ws/2gPedNr EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TILLERSON: ABC’s ALANA ABRAMSON highlights everything you need to know about the ExxonMobil CEO. http://abcn.ws/2hzomO9
TOP DEMOCRAT CALLS TRUMP’S PROSPECTIVE CABINET ‘GOLDMAN, GENERALS, AND GAZILLIONAIRES.’ A top Democratic senator said Sunday many of the people President-elect Trump has picked for top administration posts lack experience in the areas they would have to manage "in a very complicated world and a very complicated government." "I call it the '3-G' Cabinet -- Goldman, generals, and gazillionaires," Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri said Sunday on ABC News' "This Week," referring to investment bank Goldman Sachs, according to ABC’s MARGARET CHADBOURN. http://abcn.ws/2hdOiC8
RAND PAUL GIVES GLIMPSE OF TROUBLE TRUMP MAY FACE WITH HIS PARTY. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul gave an indication yesterday of the trouble that President-elect Trump may face from his own party in trying to fulfill campaign promises that cost money. Paul said on ABC News' "This Week" that he "won't vote for a budget that never balances" and that he is working to find a few other conservative GOP senators to join him, ABC’s NICKI ROSSOLL notes. "The current budget that the Republicans are looking at never balances. How can that be fiscally responsible? And how can we look at the public with a straight face and say, yes, we ran on balanced budgets, we're for the balanced budget amendment, and yet the budget we're going to introduce, that we're going to repeal Obamacare with never balances?" Paul said. http://abcn.ws/2hlUHJr
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
'SNL' MOCKS DONALD TRUMP’S CABINET PICKS. Alec Baldwin's portrayal of Donald Trump was absent from this weekend's episode of "Saturday Night Live," but the show's cold open still skewered the Republican president-elect -- namely the background of his cabinet picks -- and still featured a guest star: "Breaking Bad" actor Bryan Cranston. ABC’s DAVID CAPLAN has more. http://abcn.ws/2gOjWmN
WHO’S TWEETING?
@HuffPostPol: Carl Bernstein: Donald Trump's disdain for facts worse than Nixon http://huff.to/2hnsRwo
@SusanPage: Does it matter that Trump is skipping a daily intelligence briefing? @gregorykorte explores. http://usat.ly/2gR7bYB
@dabeard: Estonia fears new #Trump administration will sell out their freedom to pay back Putin http://politi.co/2hxh25V
@marcorubio: Being a "friend of Vladimir" is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState - MR
@JenniferJJacobs: More than 17,000 "likes" on Rubio's tweet challenging Trump's possible choice of Rex Tillerson for secretary of state.