The White House has insisted that hackers didn’t sway the election, even as a recount effort has began in Wisconsin.
“We stand behind our election results, which accurately reflect the will of the American people,” a senior Obama administration official told Politico on Friday.
“The federal government did not observe any increased level of malicious cyber activity aimed at disrupting our electoral process on election day,” the official said. “We believe our elections were free and fair from a cybersecurity perspective.”
The recount is being pushed by former Green party candidate Jill Stein, who received millions of dollars in donations to start the efforts in Wisconsin. Recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan could take place this week. All three states were considered crucial to Trump’s victory.
Hillary Clinton’s counsel, Marc Elias, issued a statement on Medium, saying that “various outside experts” had told the campaign of possible irregularities. He said Clinton’s campaign is joining Stein’s recount efforts in Wisconsin. “In the coming days, we will continue to perform our due diligence and actively follow all further activities that are to occur prior to the certification of any election results,” he added.
President-elect Donald Trump seethed at Stein’s recount effort.
“The Green Party scam to fill up their coffers by asking for impossible recounts is now being joined by the badly defeated & demoralized Dems,” the President-elect wrote on Twitter Saturday, following a statement his transition team released.
“Hillary Clinton conceded the election when she called me just prior to the victory speech and after the results were in. Nothing will change,” he added. “The Democrats, when they incorrectly thought they were going to win, asked that the election night tabulation be accepted. Not so anymore!”
Stein’s team started fundraising efforts earlier this week to file for recounts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan after a report from New York magazine that claimed cybersecurity experts were urging Clinton’s campaign to initiate a recount.
