President Joe Biden delivers remarks about the Colonial Pipeline hack, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Thursday, May 13, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Joe Biden refused to admit if hackers behind the Colonial Pipeline shutdown received a multi-million dollar ransom to get it up and running again. While speaking from the White House Thursday, he replied “no comment” when asked about the ransom payment.
During the speech, Biden claimed fuel is beginning to flow and should be reaching full operational capacity “as we speak.” He then urged Americans to stay calm, noting things will get back to normal soon.
“This is not like flicking on a light switch,” he stated. “This pipeline is 5,500 miles long, it had never been fully shut down its entire history.”
Nonetheless, he claimed the effects will not be felt at the pump immediately. Biden also used the cyber attack to push his infrastructure agenda while asserting this is a bipartisan issue.
.@POTUS on Colonial Pipeline: "Fuel is beginning to flow…They should be reaching full operational capacity as we speak…this is not like flicking on a light switch…we expect to see a region by region return to normalcy beginning this weekend." pic.twitter.com/25ySWVMuL3
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 13, 2021
Biden went on to say he believes the Russian government was not involved, but the ransomware group behind the attack is likely run by criminals living in Russia. He also said the Department of Justice is launching an anti-ransomware task force to counter such incidents.
Meanwhile, Sen. Lndsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Biden’s’ handling of the Colonial Pipeline attack was “weak” and “naive.” The South Carolina lawmaker also criticized Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm who suggested people driving electric cars were not affected by the crisis. Graham said that remark was “the dumbest thing in the world.”
The Republican senator pointed out that Biden failed to prevent the disruption, which resulted is gas shortages and soaring energy prices. His remarks came after the Colonial Pipeline partially restored its operations on Wednesday night after allegedly paying more than $4 million ransom to the hackers.
Source: One America News Network
