WASHINGTON –  In an interview today, former RNC Chair and incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus suggested that the DNC was substantially responsible for the multi-pronged Russian attack on the 2016 election – an attack that the U.S. Intelligence Community concluded was designed to tip the election in favor of Donald Trump. DNC Communications Director John Neffinger issued the following statement:

“Reince Priebus and Donald Trump know perfectly well why the Russian government targeted the DNC and Clinton campaign, strategically leaked stolen emails, deployed internet trolls, and disseminated fake news stories in a coordinated effort to distort Americans’ information environment. The report of the intelligence community told us: Vladimir Putin wanted a Trump victory. The report said ‘Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump.’

“It is laughable to think, as Chairman Priebus suggested today, that the Republican Party was spared from cyberattacks because their defenses were so vastly superior to the other institutions the Russian government previously targeted, which included the White House, the State Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

 “Why is the incoming Trump administration playing political games, refusing to acknowledge the consensus of the intelligence community and pointing fingers at their fellow Americans instead of taking this threat seriously so we can prevent future attacks? We can all appreciate why Donald Trump would be embarrassed at how he won the presidency, but if Trump is going to be president, he cannot let his personal insecurities jeopardize our national security.

“It’s time for the incoming Trump Administration to face what has happened and put our national security first. We need a thorough, independent, and bipartisan congressional investigation – modeled on the 9/11 Commission – as a critical first step toward making sure this never happens again.”