First, intelligence agencies have concluded it wasn’t just about helping Trump win; the goal was also to “undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process” and “undermine the U.S.-led liberal democratic order.” Second, intelligence officials have concluded that Russia, in continued service of those goals, is going to try to do this again.

Trump’s refusal to acknowledge Russian sabotage undermines the government’s ability to mount a response commensurate with the destructiveness of those intentions.

U.S. officials may not be briefing Trump on the intelligence conclusion that Russia views its sabotage as an incomplete success. Why? Because “his daily intelligence update” is “often structured to avoid upsetting him.”