The team of the president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, alerted Friday, December 18, to potential risks concerning national security, accusing the Pentagon of having stopped its briefings with the transitional government. One of the Democrat’s transition team, Yohannes Abraham, said to himself “Worried to learn this week of a sudden end to cooperation, already limited, on this subject”.
Outgoing Republican President Donald Trump, who refuses to acknowledge his defeat at the polls, had until recently prevented government agencies from cooperating with the Biden team as tradition dictates.
Donald Trump’s Acting Defense Minister Chris Miller argued in a statement Friday that the two sides “Had agreed to each other on a holiday break” regarding briefings with military officials. An assertion denied to the press by Mr. Abraham, who warned that a “Failure to work together could have consequences far beyond” when Mr. Biden took office in January. ” There’s no time to lose “, said Abraham.
Vast cyber attack
This latest jerk in the power transition process, usually carefully choreographed in the United States, comes shortly after a major cyberattack on the country’s infrastructure, potentially emanating from the Russian state.
Donald Trump had still not communicated on Friday afternoon about the cyberattack. The outgoing president also did not respond to comments from senior politicians and cybersecurity companies, arguing that it was perpetrated by Moscow.
Yohannes Abraham claimed that the attack was a source of “Great concern”, and that under the next administration cyberattacks would encounter a reaction inflicting a “Substantial cost”. The Biden team keeps “Hope and expect” that the briefings with the Pentagon resume immediately.
