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ByBradleyKlapper and Josh Lederman The Associated Press WASHINGTON TheObama administration suggested Thursday that Russian Pres- ident Vladimir Putin per- sonally authorized the hack- ing of Democratic officials' email accounts in the run- up to the presidential elec- tion and said it was "fact" that such actions helped Donald Trump's campaign. The White House also as- sailed Trump himself, say- ing he must have known of Russia's interference. No proof was offered for any of the accusations, the latest to unsettle America's uneasy transition from eight years under Democratic President Barack Obama to a new Republican adminis- tration led by Trump. The claims of Russian meddling in the election also have heightenedalreadydebilitat- ing tensions between Wash- ington and Moscow over Syria, Ukraine and a host of other disagreements. "Only Russia's senior- most officials could have authorized these activi- ties," White House spokes- man Josh Earnest said, re- peating the words from an October U.S. intelligence as- sessment. Obama's deputy na- tional security adviser, Ben Rhodes, connected the dots further, saying it was Putin who was responsible for the Russian government's actions. "I don't think things hap- pen in the Russian govern- ment of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it," Rhodes said on MSNBC. The explosive accusation paints Putin, the leader of perhaps the nation's great- est geopolitical foe, as hav- ing directly undermined U.S. democracy. U.S. offi- cials have not contended, however, that Trump would have been defeated by Hill- ary Clinton on Nov. 8 if not for Russia's assistance. Nor has there has been any in- dication of tampering with the vote-counting. The Kremlin flatly re- jected the claim of Putin's involvement, with Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissing it Thursday as "laughable nonsense." The dispute over Russia's role is fueling an increas- ingly public spat between Obama's White House and Trump's team that is threat- ening to spoil the delicate truce that Obama and Trump have forged since Election Day. Although the president and president-elect have avoidedcriticizingeachother publicly since Trump's win, their aides have been more openly antagonistic. Kelly- anne Conway, Trump's se- nior transition adviser, said it was "breathtaking" and ir- responsible that the White HousehadsuggestedTrump knew Russia was interfering to help his campaign. That led Obama spokes- man Josh Earnest on Thurs- day to unload, arguing that Trump, who has dismissed the CIA's assessment of Rus- sian interference, should spend less time attacking the intelligence commu- nity and more time sup- porting the investigation that Obama has ordered. Earnest said it was "ob- vious" Trump knew what Russia was doing during the campaign, pointing out that Trump had encour- aged Moscow during a news conference to find Clinton's missing emails. Trump has said he was joking. "I don't think anybody at the White House thinks it's funny that an adversary of the United States engaged in malicious cyber activity to destabilize our democ- racy," Earnest said. "That's not a joke." U.S. intelligence officials have linked the hacking to Russia's intelligence agency and its military intelligence division. Moscow has de- nied all accusations that it orchestrated the hacking of email accounts of Dem- ocratic Party officials and Clinton's campaign chief, John Podesta, and then leaked them to the anti-se- crecy website WikiLeaks. Trump and his sup- porters insist the Demo- crats' outrage about Rus- sia is really an attempt to undermine the validity of his election victory. Rep. Peter King, a Trump ally and New York Republican, called it "disgraceful" as he spoke to reporters amassed in Trump Tower after meet- ing with the president-elect. "Right now, certain ele- ments of the media, certain elements of the intelligence community and certain pol- iticians are really doing the work of the Russians," King said. Still, Democrats pounced on the latest suggestions of Putin being connected to the daily drip of emails during the presidential race from some of Clinton's clos- est advisers. Putin was "clearly in- volved," said outgoing Sen- ate Minority Leader Harry Reid. "Having been the former head of the KGB, does that surprise you?" Reid said. "And does it surprise any- body today when he de- nied it?" Reid's comments echoed those of Sen. Dianne Fein- stein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate in- telligence committee, who said Wednesday it's hard to think that Putin didn't know about the operation. She called suggestions that he was aware of the hack- ing "very credible." There has been no spe- cific, persuasive evidence shared publicly about the extent of Putin's role or knowledge of the hackings. That lack of proof undercuts Democrats' strategy to por- tray Putin's involvement as irrefutable evidence of a di- rected Russian government plot to undermine America's democratic system. Secretary of State John Kerry defended Obama's handling of the issue during the heat of the presidential campaign — a stance now criticized by some Dem- ocrats as too weak — but said he wouldn't comment on whether Putin was in- volved. "People need to remem- ber that the president is- sued a warning," Kerry said. "But he had to be ob- viously sensitive to not be- ing viewed as interfering on behalf of a candidate or against a candidate or in a way that promoted unre- alistic assessments about what was happening." ELECTION White House suggests Putin involved in US hacking TORUHANAI—POOLPHOTO Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen in Nagato, Japan, Thursday. By Jonathan Lemire The Associated Press NEW YORK Edging closer to completing his Cabi- net, President-elect Don- ald Trump announced his choice of Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke as Interior sec- retary Thursday, picking a manwhoshouldfitsmoothly into an administration fa- voring more energy drilling and less regulation. In the evening, he was to embark on his latest cam- paign victory lap, this time to Pennsylvania, which he wrested from decades in the Democratic column. He also found time to hit Twit- ter, playing media critic and then stating anew his doubts about charges that Russia hackers tried to dis- rupt the U.S. election. Trump praised Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, as hav- ing "built one of the stron- gest track records on cham- pioning regulatory relief, forest management, respon- sible energy development and public land issues." Zinke, 55, was an early sup- porter of the president-elect and publicly expressed his interest in a Cabinet post when Trump visited Mon- tana in May. As with several other Cabinet selections, Zinke has advocated increased drilling and mining on pub- lic lands and has expressed skepticism about the ur- gency of climate change. He attracted attention in the 2014 campaign for call- ing Hillary Clinton "the Antichrist." House Speaker Paul Ryan praised the pick, saying Zinke "has been an ardent supporter of all-of- the-above energy policies and responsible land man- agement." But his nomination could have a ripple effect on con- trol of the Senate, since Zinke now may forgo what was once a near-certain challenge to Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in 2018. One of Zinke's backers was Land Tawney, head of sportsmen's group Back- country Hunters & An- glers, and a friend of Don- ald Trump Jr. Tawney also has ties to Tester and volun- teered for a pro-Tester su- per PAC a few years ago. But in an interview, Tawney de- nied a Politico report that his support for Zinke had anything to do with side- lining him from the Sen- ate race. "I think there are some folks who don't like the pick of Zinke for that position, and that they're trying to politicize this to change that, and I think that's ab- solutely ridiculous," said Tawney. He said a focus on preserving public lands led him to oppose other poten- tial nominees, including Washington Rep. Cathy Mc- Morris Rogers. Trump also added to his national security team by announcing the appoint- ments of retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg as chief of staff of the National Secu- rity Council and Monica Crowley, a Fox News ana- lyst, as the organization's director of communications. Kellogg spent more than 35 years in the Army and, in 2003, oversaw the efforts to form the new Iraqi military after it was disbanded. TRANSITION For Interior, Trump picks supporter of more drilling MATTHEW BROWN — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., speaks with a supporter in Billings, Mont., as he campaigns for re-election in 2016. By Lisa Lerer and Julie Pace The Associated Press WASHINGTON As Donald Trump fills out his Cabinet, it's looking less like Amer- ica's population and more like the world Trump has always orbited: wealthy, white, male-dominated and business-minded. Trump, who railed against what he called "po- litically correct crap" dur- ing his no-holds-barred presidential campaign, is on track to create the least diverse Cabinet in a quar- ter-century. The uniformity is par- ticularly striking in the president-elect's picks for the highest-profile Cabi- net and White House jobs. While he has selected a handful of women and mi- norities for lower-profile posts, his choices for the big four Cabinet slots — Treasury, State, Defense and Justice — and his top White House jobs — chief of staff, national security adviser and senior adviser — are all white men. So, too, will white men run the departments of Commerce, Energy, Home- land Security and Health and Human Services as well as the Environmental Protection Agency. Should Trump be unable tocompletehistermaspres- ident, the top eight people in the line of succession are white men from the Cabinet and Congress. That number could grow to 12 if he picks a white man for Agriculture secretary.NorthDakotaSen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Demo- crat, is the only woman be- lieved to be in the mix. Unlike recent predeces- sors in both parties, Trump so far has no Hispanics in the most prominent posi- tions. Based on the current top contenders for remain- ing jobs, it appears unlikely he'll have a Hispanic in his Cabinet or in any top White House job. Trump spokesman Jason Miller has pledged that the president-elect's team will be "very broad and diverse, both with the Cabinet and the administration." But Trump himself seems to have different priorities: "I want people that made a fortune! Be- cause now they're negotiat- ing for you, OK?" he said, at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, last week. Even if he appoints women or minorities to three remaining Cabinet- level posts — Veterans Af- fairs, Agriculture and the Office of Management and Budget — Trump will lag behind the past three ad- ministrations in creating a demographically diverse White House. President Bill Clinton in- stalled 10 women and mi- norities into Cabinet-level jobs during his first term, part of an effort to create an inclusive image for his new administration. Other presidents have followed suit: George W. Bush had nine in his first term, and Barack Obama broke re- cords with 13, according to an analysis of data com- piled by University of Cal- ifornia law school profes- sor Anne Joseph O'Connell. So far, Trump has se- lected five non-white men or women for the 16 posts he's filled: Neurosurgeon Ben Carson for secretary of Housing and Urban De- velopment, South Caro- lina Gov. Nikki Haley as U.N. ambassador, former Bush administration La- bor Secretary Elaine Chao for Transportation, activist Betsy DeVos as Education secretary and World Wres- tling executive Linda Mc- Mahon to head the Small Business Administration. "The Cabinet choices are the most visible. And, consequently, to the extent that he faces pressure on diversity, it plays out here," said O'Connell. TRANSITION Tr um p la gs p re de ce ss or s on diversity as he chooses Cabinet (530) 527-2151 728 MAIN ST., RED BLUFF The Daily News office will be closed Friday, Dec. 16 from 12-2 pm for our annual Christmas party. Thankyou Daily News staff DAILY NEWS Please leave a message and we will return your call. wwwnortherncountiesroofingsystems.com FreeEstimates 530-356-0686 Owner on site Lic# 955662 • Residential • Commercial • New Construction RedBluffDailyNews 728 Main Street Red Bluff, CA 96080 Effective January 1, 2017 Red Bluff Daily News will no longer use P.O. BOX 220 as our mailing address. 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