5 Us-indians sworn in as members of US Congress

US PRESIDENT-ELECT Donald Trump is using Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to cast doubt on the US intelligence community’s case that Russia was behind hacking of the Democratic National Committee ahead of the 2016 election.

And he’s suggesting that the DNC is to blame for the hacking of its computers and emails, including those of top Hillary Clinton adviser John Podesta.

Trump continued his tweetstorm Wednesday by arguing the DNC did not have a “hacking defence” and questioning why the Democratic Party had not responded “to the terrible things they did and said.’’ He appeared to be referring to information in the DNC emails that was made public and led to the resignation of top DNC officials.

“Julian Assange said ‘a 14 year old could have hacked Podesta’ — why was DNC so careless? Also said Russians did not give him the info!” Trump tweeted early Wednesday.

It was a striking spectacle for the incoming president to give credibility to Assange, whose organisation has been under criminal investigation for its role in classified information leaks.

Assange has said his source for the hacked emails Wikileaks published during the campaign was not a government, but his assertion has left open the possibility they came from a third party.

The American intelligence community and Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill insist that Russia was behind the hacks, but Trump has repeatedly dismissed that allegation, challenging the intelligence experts who will help him make the weightiest possible decisions once he becomes president January 20. Trump has insisted that the government doesn’t really know who’s behind the attacks. He has said he’ll release more information this week.

Trump wrote without evidence that the timing of an upcoming intelligence briefing on suspected Russian interference in the 2016 election had been delayed. “Perhaps more time needed to build a case.”

“Very strange!’’ he wrote, using quote marks around the word “intelligence.”

The tweets caused confusion among the nation’s tntelligence officials, who said there was no delay in the briefing schedule. AP A RECORD five Indian-americans took oath as members of the US Congress, scripting history for the minority ethnic community that comprises just one per cent of America’s population.

52-year-old Kamala Harris, whose mother was from India and father from Jamaica, was sworn in Tuesday as the Senator from California by outgoing US Vice President Joe Biden. She is the first Indianamerican to have ever served in the Senate.

She was accompanied by her husband Doug Emhoff, sister Maya Harris and other members of her immediate family.

Harris is one of the seven new Senators to have taken office in the new Congress.

A few hours later, the focus of the community shifted to the House Chambers wherein as many as four Indian-americans were sworn in as its members, including Congressman Ami Bera, who has been reelected for the third consecutive term.

Joining Bera was young and dynamic Ro Khanna (40) representing the Silicon Valley.

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, 42, who won the election from Illinois took the oath on Gita. He is only the second US lawmaker after Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii to take the oath on a Gita. Gabbard took the oath for third consecutive term. PTI

Trump’s claims gave credibility to Julian Assange, whose organisation faces a criminal investigation for its role in classified information leaks.