Ryan Backs Probes Of Russian Hacking, Warns Against Doubting Election Result

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced his support for congressional investigations into “state-sponsored cyberattacks” in a Monday statement that also warned such investigations shouldn’t call the election results into question.

“We must condemn and push back forcefully against any state-sponsored cyberattacks on our democratic process,” the statement read in part. “Throughout this Congress, Chairman Nunes and the Intelligence Committee have been working diligently on the cyber threats posed by foreign governments and terrorist organizations to the security and institutions of the United States. This important work will continue and has my support.”

A spokesman clarified on Twitter that Ryan supports what he characterized as ongoing efforts by the House Intelligence Committee to look into the effect of Russian hacking on the election.

Ryan also seemed to blame Democrats for politicizing the conclusions of unnamed sources in the intelligence community that the theft and subsequent publishing of emails from the Democratic National Committee, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, and others were aimed at helping President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign.

“As I’ve said before, any foreign intervention in our elections is entirely unacceptable,” Ryan said in the statement. “And any intervention by Russia is especially problematic because, under President Putin, Russia has been an aggressor that consistently undermines American interests.”

“At the same time, exploiting the work of our intelligence community for partisan purposes does a grave disservice to those professionals and potentially jeopardizes our national security,” he continued. “As we work to protect our democracy from foreign influence, we should not cast doubt on the clear and decisive outcome of this election.”