Liberal New York Times columnist Paul Krugman on Monday attacked President-elect Trump for the “denigration of the intelligence agencies,” after Trump dismissed the idea that officials willfully downplayed information that Russia was trying to influence the election.
In an op-ed published Monday, Krugman said the election was “tainted” by a combination of cyber hacks, suspected to be executed by Russians, that hurt the Clinton campaign, in addition to a last-minute ominous revelation by Comey that the FBI had discovered yet more emails related to the Democratic nominee’s private server.
“Did the combination of Russian and F.B.I. intervention swing the election?” wrote Krugman. “Yes. Mrs. Clinton lost three states – Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania – by less than a percentage point, and Florida by only slightly more. If she had won any three of those states, she would be president-elect. Is there any reasonable doubt that Putin/Comey made the difference?”
Krugman said Trump could “act as a healer,” but that instead “what we’re actually getting are wild claims that millions of people voted illegally, false assertions of a landslide, and denigration of the intelligence agencies.”
A report this weekend, relying on anonymous sources, said the CIA had all but concluded the Russian government was involved in the email hacks of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and of the Democratic National Committee. The report said CIA officials believed the hacks were an attempt to bolster Trump’s standing in the race.
Trump’s team, however, cast doubt on the report, saying in a statement, “These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.”
Krugman has said that Comey “rigged” the election and that he helped install “a crazy, vindictive can’t-handle-the-truth person in the White House.”
