Russian Hacking Sanctions Target Glen Cove Compound

Punished meted out by President Obama for Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election by hacking the emails of Hillary Clinton staffers, among other things, was announced Thursday and includes economic sanctions and diplomatic ousters. The international brinksmanship will be directly felt on Long Island, where the president says a Glen Cove compound owned by the Russian government will be closed.

Access to Killenworth, a historic Glen Cove mansion purchased by the Soviet Union in 1951, as well as a Russian compound in Maryland will be denied to all Russian officials as of noon on Friday, Reuters reports. Along with the reported Russian efforts to influence the election, the White House says that the response is payback for increased harassment of American diplomats in Russia over the past year.

Killenworth is a 49-room mansion on nearly 40 acres off Dosoris Lane. It was built in 1912 as the home of George Dupont Pratt. It is unclear how much the Soviet Union purchased it for, but an old brochure for the mansion listed its price as $75,000.

In 1982, the Glen Cove City Council banned Russian diplomats from using the city's beaches and tennis courts because officials believed Russians were using the mansion to spy on Long Island's defense industries, then-Mayor Alan M. Parente told the New York Times. Glen Cove officials were also upset over losing out on over $100,000 in annual property taxes due to Killenworth's tax-exempt status.

The Soviet Union responded by refusing to allow U.S. diplomats in Moscow to use a beach outside the city. The dispute was settled two years later when the Glen Cove City Council lifted its ban.

»SEE ALSO: Obama Administration Announces Sanctions on Russia Over Election-Related Hacking

So far, President-Elect Donald Trump has dismissed claims by Obama, U.S. intelligence agencies and some U.S. senators that blamed Russia for hacking and releasing Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee emails.

Trump said in a statement Thursday evening: “It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things. Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation."

Other measures taken to punish Russia include the expulsion of 35 diplomats from the Russian embassy in Washington and consulate in San Francisco.

"These actions follow repeated private and public warnings that we have issued to the Russian government, and are a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm U.S. interests in violation of established international norms of behavior," Obama said in a statement. "All Americans should be alarmed by Russia’s actions.”

Russian hackers leaked emails in the fall by senior Clinton adviser John Podesta and other Democratic operatives, U.S. intelligence officials say. Earlier this month, Obama came close to blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for orchestrating the hacks, saying that very little happens in that country's government without Putin’s knowledge.

Sean Spicer, Trump’s incoming White House press secretary, said Obama's assertions are an effort to undercut Trump’s mandate. “You have a lot of folks on the left who continue to undermine the legitimacy of his win and the nature of how big that win was, and that is unfortunate,” Spicer said, according to The Baltimore Sun.

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI will release declassified information on Russian cyberactivity to help American computer network administrators identify, detect and fight Russia's cyber activities, the president said.

The administration will give a report to Congress about Russian attempts to interfere in the election, as well as previous election cycles, the president said.

Photo via The Library of Congress: Killenworth around 1915

Reporting by Deb Belt