Over this past weekend, the CIA revealed that a secret investigation has concluded that there was organized Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, in a purposeful effort to elect Donald J. Trump. This news has been met with widespread concern and disturbance, as well as dismissals from both president-elect Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is now believed by intelligence agents that Putin was directly involved in the hacking and approved the actions.

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, December 11, Trump described the investigation’s conclusion as “ridiculous,” adding that he did not “believe it at all.” On Tuesday, December 13, a spokesman for Putin called the charges “absolute nonsense,” denying any possible Russian involvement, according to The Washington Post.

The investigation holds that Russia attempted to sway the election results in favor of Trump through hacking attacks targeting the Democratic National Committee and prominent individuals such as Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta. According to The New York Times, the DNC emails were obtained by Russian intelligence agents and then disseminated through websites such as WikiLeaks. A Senate investigation into the interference has already been announced, with Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell stating that “the Russians are not our friends.” The former acting director of the CIA, Mike Morell, described Russia’s actions as “the political equivalent of 9/11.”

When asked about the conclusion of the investigation, ERHS senior Nidhi Naik said, “I don’t think that [Russia] should’ve been involved at all,” but added that she also didn’t feel that “anything will be done about it.” Freshman Frederick Rukh-Kamaa said he believed that Russia’s actions “should have consequences,” commenting that “they wouldn’t allow it if we did it.” When asked about what implications this holds for the Trump administration, he said, “I believe that [Trump]’s going to work with Putin, since Putin helped him get into the White House.”

“I was shocked,” said U.S. History teacher Ms. Kathleen Deery, when asked about her response to the revelations about Russia’s involvement. “It was just very troubling.”

She pointed out that there is “a lot of bipartisan support” for the Senate investigation, commenting, “It’s really important that we know the extent to which it is happening.” She said she is also “worried about foreign policy,” but added, “I don’t think it will change the outcome of the election.”

On Thursday, December 15, President Obama said that the U.S. government will “take action” in response to the hacking, according to an interview with NPR. He will hold a press conference at 2:15pm on Friday, December 16, in which he is expected to speak on the subject.