File photo taken on Oct. 19, 2016 shows Donald Trump participating in the third and final presidential debate at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) in Las Vegas, Nevada, the United States. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday questioned the probe into election-related hacking that is allegedly linked to Moscow, hinting the White House only bothered to look into the matter now Trump has won.
"If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?" Trump tweeted.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest admitted Wednesday that the president had known about the hackings prior to the election, but refrained from acting on it to avoid being seen as "meddle in the election."
The New York Times reported Wednesday that hacker groups linked to the Russian government have been actively trying to obtain information from the Democratic National Committee since last year.
Trump's rant came as a deep rift between Trump and the establishment widened regarding their stance on Russia.
Trump on Tuesday nominated Exxon Mobile CEO Rex Tillerson, who is known to have close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as his state secretary.
The nomination faces potential hurdles in Congress with members of Trump's own Republican Party threatening to vote no.
"I can't imagine I would vote for anybody that believes that we should not sanction Russia given the fact that they did in fact interfere in our election," Lindsey Graham, the Republican Senator of South Carolina, said Wednesday.
This is not the first time Trump took to twitter to vent his anger against the hacking investigation, which U.S. President Barack Obama ordered Friday to be concluded before he leaves office on Jan. 20.
"Unless you catch 'hackers' in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't his brought up before the election?" Trump said Monday.
"Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory!" he said.
Related:
White House, Trump team clash over alleged Russian hacking
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The White House on Thursday clashed with President-elect Donald Trump's transition team over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. Full story
Trump picks former Texas governor Rick Perry as energy secretary
WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday he will pick former Texas governor Rick Perry to head the Department of Energy. Full story
Spotlight: Trump's pick for U.S. top diplomat sparks division within GOP
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- With the announcement of his pick for secretary of state, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump again sparked division among the Republican Party. Full story
Trump picks Exxon CEO Tillerson as secretary of state
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday picked ExxonMobil chief executive officer Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state. Full story
