With Obama’s track record of politicizing intelligence, John Bolton is skeptical of Obama’s claims that Russia was definitely behind the hacking. However if the allegations are true, then Bolton says Obama’s removal of Russian diplomats and proposed sanctions are a pathetic response.
Bolton also cautions Trump defenders from arguing that the Russians didn’t actually have an affect on the election as a way to excuse the alleged behavior. Bolton says it’s the effort that matters and the ineffectiveness of the Russians is no excuse to let them off the hook.
Rather, Bolton feels that Trump should look at the evidence himself and if the allegations are true, he should take tough measures against Russia. He says Obama’s tepid response won’t do anything, that Trump needs to make the Russians (and others) feel pain in order to prevent this from happening again.