Russian hacking an act of war: Cheney

FORMER US Vice- President Dick Cheney has weighed in on Russia’s alleged hacking in the US election, saying it could be considered an “act of war”.

During a speech at the Economic Times’ Global Business Summit, The Hill reported Mr Cheney said American people should be concerned about Russia’s actions.

“There’s no question there was a very serious effort made by Mr ( Vladimir) Putin and his government, his organisation, to interfere in major ways with our basic fundamental democratic processes,” Mr Cheney said, according to The Hill. “In some quarters, that would be considered an act of war. I think it’s a kind of conduct and activity we will see going forward. We know he’s attempted it previously in other states in the Baltics.

“I actually think that their engagement was an act of war, an act of hybrid warfare, and I think that’s why the American people should be concerned about it.”

The Hill also reported Democratic Party member and US representative Jackie Speier said back in December that Russia’s alleged actions amounted to an act of war.

Russia has denied it interfered in the election and an investigation is ongoing.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is set to announce his son- inlaw Jared Kushner will take on a White House role to oversee a broad effort to overhaul the federal government.

Mr Kushner, who is married to President Trump’s daughter Ivanka and serves as a senior adviser, will lead the newly formed White House Office of American Innovation with an eye on leveraging business ideas and potentially privatising some government functions, the Washington Post reports.

“The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens,” Mr Kushner said.

Some of the areas he will focus on are veterans’ care, opioid addiction, technology and data infrastructure, workforce training and infrastructure, according to the report.

In a statement to the Post, Mr Trump said: “I promised the American people I would produce results, and apply my ‘ ahead of schedule, under budget’ mentality to the government.”

It comes amid reports Mr Kushner will be questioned by a Senate panel about a meeting he arranged with a Russian ambassador.

The Senate Intelligence Committee, which has been looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, wants to talk to Mr Kushner about meetings with Kremlin envoy Sergey Kislyak, the New York Times reported.