Last Updated Dec 12, 2016 10:55 AM EST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
John Bolton, who may be named deputy secretary of state<\/a>, is suggesting that the U.S. intelligence community\u2019s conclusion about Russian hacking that favored Republican nominee Donald Trump could be a deception, a \u201cfalse flag.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview Sunday, Bolton told Fox News\u2019 Eric Shawn, \u201cIt is not at all clear to me, just viewing this from the outside, that this hacking into the DNC and the RNC computers was not a false flag operation.\u201d<\/p>\n Bolton reasoned that Russia would be too sophisticated to leave evidence of its hacking. \u00a0\u201cIf you think the Russians did this, why did they leave fingerprints?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n Bolton didn\u2019t elaborate on the term \u201cfalse flag,\u201d he seemed to be suggesting that someone could have been attempting to falsely lead the public into believing Russia was to blame for the hacking.<\/p>\n Shawn followed up by asking, \u201cAre you actually accusing someone here in the administration or in the intelligence community of trying to throw something?\u201d<\/p>\n Bolton was not specific: \u201cWe just don\u2019t know,\u201d he replied. \u201cBut I believe that intelligence has been politicized in the Obama administration to a very significant degree.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that, \u201cThe notion of some kind of independent investigation becomes extremely important.\u201d<\/p>\n President-elect Trump also disputes<\/a><\/span> the intelligence agencies\u2019 conclusion that Russia intervened in the election to help his candidacy. \u201cI think it\u2019s ridiculous. I think it\u2019s just another excuse. I don\u2019t believe it,\u201d he told Fox News\u2019 Chris Wallace on \u201cFox News Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n The CIA\u2019s conclusion about Russian hacking that favored Mr. Trump is a \u201chigh-confidence judgment,\u201d CBS News Jeff Pegues reports. And that judgment is something that caught the attention of former acting CIA Director Michael Morell.<\/p>\n \u201c[T]he C.I.A. doesn\u2019t come to a high-confidence judgment just based on circumstantial evidence.\u201d So I think they\u2019ve got more here,\u201d Morell said on \u201cCBS This Morning\u201d Monday. \u201cI think they\u2019ve got sources who are actually telling them what the intent was.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Former](\"http:\/\/cbsnews1.cbsistatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2016\/12\/12\/8350533d-8024-4907-a892-1226313bad5b\/thumbnail\/380x240\/d91e376a1d4978277546e4a014aac904\/cbsn-russia-1212-1199294-640x360.jpg\")
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