A detailed reconstruction of Russian-directed hacking during the U.S. elections has revealed how the White House rejected robust responses that might have gotten Moscow's attention, along with a series of party missteps that allowed the intrusion to proliferate unabated.
The White House did not hold the first Situation Room meetings about the hack until July, the New York Times revealed in a detailed report on how the hack unfolded. That was several months after the initial intrusion into the computers of the Democratic National Committee, which is believed to have occurred in April.
Ultimately, that hack would result in the release of thousands of embarrassing documents in the midst of a heated political campaign – and forcing the resignation of the DNC chair on the eve of the Democratic National Convention.
As the scope and origins of the cyber attack became more clear, the White House considered, but rejected the most robust responses that would have sent a strong signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
'Possible' counterstrikes that were 'reportedly included,' according to the paper, were going after Putin, a former KGB agent, to expose his financial links to wealthy oligarchs, and punching holes in the Russian internet to let dissidents spread their views.
'Pentagon officials judged the measures too unsubtle and ordered up their own set of options,' according to the paper. None of those ideas were 'formally presented' to President Obama.
Top security officials who met in the White House about the intrusion that roiled Hillary Clinton's campaign feared an overreaction by the U.S. might actually help Putin.
'If we went to Defcon 4,' said one government official, using the nuclear warning code, 'we would be saying to the public that we didn't have confidence in the integrity of our voting system.'
The White House wouldn't say Wednesday if it had taken action since.
'I'm not in a position to confirm whether or not that response has been initiated or not,' press secretary Josh Earnest said. 'I'm also not in a position to confirm that we won't ever in the future discuss what that response is or what that response may be.