House Speaker Paul Ryan said it’s clear Russia attempted to meddle with the United States’s political system, but there is no evidence it tampered with vote tallies Friday.
The comments come in the wake of the intelligence community releasing a declassified report concluding the country tried to tip the scales in President-elect Donald Trump’s favor.
Ryan dismissed Democrats’ allegations that Trump’s win isn’t legitimate, saying he won because his message registered with voters.
“We must also be clear that there is no evidence that there was any interference in the voting or balloting process,” Ryan said in a statement. “We cannot allow partisans to exploit this report in an attempt to delegitimize the president-elect’s victory. Donald Trump won this election fair and square because he heard the voices of Americans who felt forgotten.”
The report notes Russian attempts to influence U.S. elections date all the way back to the Cold War.
“For decades, Russian and Soviet intelligence services have sought to collect insider information from U.S. political parties that could help Russian leaders understand a new U.S. administration’s plans and priorities,” it reads.
Ryan said action needs to be taken to prevent foreign actors from interfering in the political process in the future.
“I strongly condemn any outside interference in our elections, which we must work to prevent moving forward,” he said.
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