Mitch McConnell defies Trump on investigation into Russian tampering

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is defying President-elect Donald Trump's insistence that there was absolutely no tampering with the election by the Russian government, a charge made by the CIA and reported by the Washington Post Friday night.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: "It defies belief" that some Republicans don't want to investigate Russia https://t.co/4iS9Dn35Zm pic.twitter.com/lLq9PcLCrt

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) December 12, 2016

In the statement before the press McConnell said:

It defies belief that somehow Republicans in the Senate are reluctant to either review Russian tactics or ignore them. So last let me say that I have the highest confidence in the intelligence community and especially the Central Intelligence Agencies.

Donald Trump has come out strongly against the conclusion made by the CIA that the Russian government likely ordered the hacking of American politicians in order to interfere in our elections. Others in Trump's retinue have said that this was politically motivated and that there is absolutely no evidence of the contention made by the CIA.

Trump mocked the charges Monday morning on Twitter:

McConnell joins the chorus of congressmen who are now demanding that the president-elect take the accusations seriously.

More from CNN:

"Congress's national security committees have worked diligently to address the complex challenge of cybersecurity, but recent events show that more must be done," said Sens. Chuck Schumer, the incoming Senate Democratic leader, Sen. John McCain, the Armed Services Committee chairman, fellow Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, and Sen. Jack Reed, the top Armed Services Committee Democrat, in a Sunday morning statement.

"While protecting classified material, we have an obligation to inform the public about recent cyberattacks that have cut to the heart of our free society. Democrats and Republicans must work together, and across the jurisdictional lines of the Congress, to examine these recent incidents thoroughly and devise comprehensive solutions to deter and defend against further cyber-attacks."

Is this just a political power struggle intended to delegitimize Trump before he even gets into the Oval Office? Or are there real concerns about Putin trying to manipulate our elections to further his own geo-political machinations?