Editorial: Trump’s shameful incuriosity about Russian meddling

Both the outgoing Obama administration and the leaders of the incoming Congress recognize that there must be a full accounting of whether the Russian government engaged in cyberwarfare designed to influence the recent presidential election.

The odd man out is President-elect Donald Trump, who continues to dismiss the possibility of Russian interference, telling Fox News Sunday in reference to the hacking of Democratic emails: “They have no idea if it’s Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed someplace.”

Trump’s defiant lack of curiosity — and outrage — is perhaps more understandable in light of the new allegations that Russia was involved in hacking and distributing Democratic email accounts not just in order to undermine confidence in the U.S. election process but, more pointedly, to help elect Trump himself. The Washington Post reported last weekend that that was the conclusion CIA analysts shared with Congress. (The FBI was apparently less definite in its conclusions.)

Responding to the CIA’s conclusions, the Trump transition office released a flippant press release noting that “these are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.”

On Monday, Trump tweeted that questions about such interference are just an example of disgruntled Democrats playing “the Russia/CIA card.” A Trump spokesman told reporters that the discussion of Russian meddling was “an attempt to try to delegitimize President-elect Trump’s win.”

It’s true that some of Clinton’s supporters fantasize about using the allegations of Russian meddling to somehow prevent the Electoral College from confirming his victory. On Monday, 10 electors (nine of them Democrats) sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper seeking a briefing on any investigation into links between Trump’s campaign and Russian attempts to affect the election.

But you don’t have to question the legitimacy of Trump’s victory to demand an accounting of possible Russian meddling, which is both outrageous and worrisome if it indeed occurred. Obama has accepted the outcome of the election, but still has asked the intelligence community to conduct an expedited review. On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said that the congressional intelligence committees would pursue the matter.

But team Trump is still in denial. Meanwhile, the president-elect is floating as a potential nominee as secretary of State Rex Tillerson, chairman and CEO of the ExxonMobil Corp. who is known for his close relations with Russia.

Trump has every right to defend the legitimacy of his election, and to propose new policies toward Russia and submit nominees who might share those views. But in cavalierly dismissing allegations of Russian meddling — and expressing open contempt for the intelligence agencies he must rely on as president — he is letting his vanity stand in the way of his duty.

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