GOP panel to probe Obama response to Russian hacking

The GOP-controlled Senate Foreign Relations Committee will dig into the Obama administration’s response to Russian hacking.

The committee — overseen by Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) — will hold a closed-door briefing with administration officials on Thursday.

Victoria Nuland, an assistant secretary of State; Gentry Smith, the director of the State Department’s foreign missions office; and Danny Toler, a deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security will brief lawmakers, according to a notice from the committee.

{mosads}The Obama administration announced a slate of economic sanctions late last month targeting the GRU and the FSB, two of Russia’s main intelligence organizations, as well as four individual GRU officers, three companies that provided support to the GRU and six individuals implicated in the campaign.

Corker and congressional aides said late last year that the committee would probe allegations of Russian hacking, as well as a broader review of the U.S.-Moscow relationship.

“We are going to systematically walk through the entire Russia issue and fully understand what has transpired,” Corker told CNN at the time.

According to the committee, the administration has so far refused to provide witnesses for a public hearing.

In addition to the Foreign Relations Committee, the Armed Services and Intelligence committees are expected to investigate allegations that Russia meddled in the White House race.