President-elect Donald Trump was on a collision course with US spy chiefs today as they prepared to brief him on allegations of Russian hacking he has branded a "political witch hunt."
US intelligence believes that the Kremlin directly interfered in the run-up to November's presidential election by breaking into the servers of Trump's Democratic rivals.
The nation's top intelligence officers were to brief Trump on Friday on the claims, but there was no sign the incoming Republican leader was ready to drop his skepticism.
In fact, just hours before the politically-charged classified briefing, the brash billionaire gave a telephone interview with the New York Times alleging an attempt to undermine him.
"This is a political witch hunt," he told the paper, noting that his outgoing predecessor President Barack Obama had presided over several cyber-security failures.
Trump has consistently mocked or cast doubt on reports backed by leaked evidence from secret investigations that Vladimir Putin personally sought to sway the election in his favor over rival Hillary Clinton.
Clinton's Democratic supporters, and a significant number of Trump's fellow Republicans in Congress, have expressed dismay that he would side with Russia over US intelligence.
But Trump, long an outspoken supporter of warmer ties with Moscow, has remained unrepentant and in his New York Times interview appeared to be gearing up to reject the report.
"They got beaten very badly in the election," Trump told the paper, accusing Clinton's supporters of boosting the controversy to cover up the shortcomings of her campaign.
"They are very embarrassed about it. To some extent, it's a witch hunt. They just focus on this," he said.
After Trump first raised doubts last month, Obama ordered the intelligence community to produce a comprehensive report on cyber attacks and Russia's alleged role in the election.
Obama was briefed on the report on Thursday and intelligence chiefs were scheduled to talk to Trump on Friday -- after leaked details of the report appeared in the media.
This too infuriated Trump, who declared via Twitter that he would ask the chairs of the House and Senate intelligence committees to investigate who leaked details to NBC news.
James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, National Security Agency chief Mike Rogers, FBI director James Comey and CIA Director John Brennan were expected at Trump Tower.
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