Bolton Maintains That Trump Has Been Vocal About Threat Of Russian Hacking

US diplomat John Bolton takes questions during a press conference at the US Embassy in Beijing, 28 July 2003. The US undersecretary of state for arms control and international security is in Beijing for the second s... US diplomat John Bolton takes questions during a press conference at the US Embassy in Beijing, 28 July 2003. The US undersecretary of state for arms control and international security is in Beijing for the second session of the US-China Security Dialogue, with talks focusing on the North Korean nuclear issue. Bolton is also scheduled to visit South Korea and Japan later this week. AFP PHOTO/Frederic J. BROWN / AFP PHOTO / Frederick M. BROWN (Photo credit should read FREDERICK M. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Invoking communist Russia and Ronald Reagan, National Security Adviser John Bolton insisted that President Donald Trump has been vocal and assertive about Russia’s hacking in 2016 and the continued threat the nation poses to American elections.

“He felt that the administration wasn’t getting the word out to American voters that we were concerned and were determined to protect the integrity of the electoral process and countering Russian and other foreign influence campaigns,” Bolton told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday, giving the President credit for arranging the presence of top security officials at last week’s White House press briefing.

Tapper pushed Bolton, citing Trump’s tweet calling Russian election interference a “hoax.”

Bolton meandered onto communist Russia in the Reagan era by way of explaining that Russia has long been a threat to America, concluding that by “hoax,” Trump meant the theory that he and his campaign conspired with the Russians to defeat Hillary Clinton.

Trump’s tweet seems to indicate otherwise:

Watch part of Bolton’s interview here:

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