Trump aide says Obama’s Russia sanctions may be disproportionate

US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming press secretary suggested on Sunday that the Obama administration’s measures against Russia in the wake of allegations that Moscow interfered in the 2016 elections were disproportionate.

On Thursday, the White House announced that it was expelling 35 Russian diplomats, saying they were really agents, levying new sanctions on Russian spy agencies and shuttering two Russian compounds in Maryland and New York over alleged Russian hacking during the presidential election.

Speaking to ABC News on Sunday, Trump’s aide, Sean Spicer, said: “One of the questions that we have is why the magnitude of this? I mean you look at 35 people being expelled, two sites being closed down, the question is, is that response in proportion to the actions taken? Maybe it was; maybe it wasn’t but you have to think about that.”

Spicer pointed to a 2015 incident with China in which records of US government employees were seized and “no action publicly was taken. Nothing, nothing was taken when millions of people had their private information, including information on security clearances that was shared. Not one thing happened.”

“So there is a question about whether there’s a political retribution here versus a diplomatic response,” he said.

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GOP leaders have largely backed the sanctions imposed by the Obama administration.

The State Department said Sunday that the 35 Russian diplomats, along with their family members, have left the United States.

Trump has repeatedly cast aside allegations by US intelligence agencies that Russia tried to influence the presidential election through hacking, a charge the Russian government denies.

Trump plans to meet with intelligence officials in coming days to learn more about the allegations. He said he wants US officials “to be sure because it’s a pretty serious charge.” He pointed to intelligence failures over the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq before the US invasion, and declared himself an expert in the area.

“I know a lot about hacking,” he said, “and hacking is a very hard thing to prove, so it could be somebody else.”

He added, cryptically, that he also knows “things that other people don’t know. And so they cannot be sure of the situation.”

Asked what he knows, he said: “You’ll find out on Tuesday or Wednesday.”

The president-elect also said that “no computer is safe” when it comes to keeping information private, expressing new skepticism about the security of online communications his administration is likely to use for everything from day-to-day planning to international relations.

Trump rarely uses email or computers, despite his frequent tweeting.

“You know, if you have something really important, write it out and have it delivered by courier, the old-fashioned way,” Trump told reporters during his annual New Year’s Eve bash on Saturday. “Because I’ll tell you what: No computer is safe.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said there would be no retaliation for the explusion of his diplomats, indicating he would wait to consider the incoming administration’s actions before mulling any response. Trump in turn praised that move as “very smart” on Twitter on Saturday.