Kellyanne Conway: President Obama's Russia sanctions meant to 'box in' Trump
On Thursday, the Obama administration announced various measures it is taking against Russia in response to the nation's alleged role in hacking the 2016 presidential election.
These responsive actions against Russia include removing 35 members of Russian intelligence from the U.S. and imposing sanctions on a variety of government-related individuals and groups.
Senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump Kellyanne Conway commented on these actions during an interview with CNN, saying,
"I will tell you that even those who are sympathetic to President Obama on most issues are saying that part of the reason he did this today was to quote 'box in' President-elect Trump. That would be very unfortunate if politics were the motivating factor here but we can't help but think that's often true."
Conway then cited a New York Times piece which stated in part that the measures against Russia "...also appeared intended to box in President-elect Trump, who will now have to decide whether to lift the sanctions on Russian intelligence agencies when he takes office next month."
In his statement following the announcement on Russia, Donald Trump said, "It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things. Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation."
Obama's actions follow reports by multiple U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia intervened in the U.S. election.
In early December, the Washington Post noted, "Intelligence agencies have identified individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided WikiLeaks with thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others, including Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, according to U.S. officials. Those officials described the individuals as actors known to the intelligence community and part of a wider Russian operation to boost Trump and hurt Clinton's chances."
