'I'm a smart person. I don't need to be told the same thing every single day': Trump says he doesn't need daily intelligence briefings 

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Donald Trump on Sunday said he's not interested in getting daily intelligence briefings — an unprecedented public dismissal by a president-elect of the nation's massive and sophisticated intelligence apparatus.

Trump, who also called a recent CIA assessment of Russian hacking 'ridiculous', made the remark as key congressional Republicans joined Democrats in demanding a bipartisan investigation into the Kremlin's activities.

They also questioned consideration of Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson — who has close business ties with Moscow — as head of the State Department.

Asked whether he's rejecting valuable intelligence on 'Fox News Sunday,' Trump was defiant.

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Donald Trump (pictured with host Chris Wallace) said on Sunday he's not interested in getting daily intelligence briefings and would prefer to be updated only when big changes happen

'I get it when I need it,' he said on Fox News of the top-secret briefings sessions, adding that he's leaving it up to the briefers to decide when a development represents a 'change' big enough to notify him.

'I'm, like, a smart person. I don't have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years,' Trump said.

The CIA has concluded with 'high confidence' that Russia sought to influence the US election on behalf of Trump. 

The finding alarmed lawmakers, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., who said Sunday he planned to put Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., a staunch Trump critic, in charge of investigating the claim.

McCain also has questions about Tillerson's business relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, although it's not clear Tillerson will be nominated. 

Sunday afternoon, Tillerson had still not been formally offered the job, according to a person with knowledge of the process who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Exxon steadily expanded its Russian business on Tillerson's watch even as its rivals faced expropriation and regulatory obstacles. 

In 2013, Putin bestowed the Order of Friendship on Tillerson.

'I'm, like, a smart person. I don't have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years,' Trump told Wallace about the daily briefings

Trump, also called a recent CIA assessment of Russian hacking 'ridiculous', as key congressional Republicans joined Democrats in demanding a bipartisan investigation into the Kremlin's activities. Pictured are the CIA headquarters

'Maybe those ties are strictly commercial and got to do with his business in the oil business. Fine,' McCain said on CBS' 'Face the Nation.'

And 'we'll give him a fair hearing. But is it a matter of concern? Certainly it should be a matter of concern.'

McCain wasn't alone in raising questions about whether there would be enough blowback to sink a Tillerson nomination.

'Being a "friend of Vladimir" is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryOfState,' tweeted Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, Trump's former campaign rival and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Pennsylvania Democratic Senator Bob Casey said the developments 'raise serious questions about whether the incoming administration will adequately stand up to Russia's aggression'.

Trump's remarks came as key Republicans questioned consideration of Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson (pictured), who has close business ties with Moscow, as head of the State Department

Trump said Tillerson's relationship with Moscow was a selling point.

'A great advantage is he knows many of the players, and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals for the company,' Trump told Fox News in an interview broadcast Sunday. He called Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker impressive, and said former bitter rival Mitt Romney is still in the mix.

'These are all very different types of people,' he said. 'But when you ask me about Rex, I mean, he's a world-class player. There's no question about it.'

Later Sunday, Trump tweeted: 'Whether I choose him or not for "State"- Rex Tillerson, the Chairman & CEO of ExxonMobil, is a world class player and dealmaker. Stay tuned!'

Separately, Trump also rejected the CIA's conclusion that Russia tried to interfere with the presidential election and blamed 'very embarrassed' Democrats for the public release of the assessment. The Washington Post first reported the CIA finding on Friday.

'It's ridiculous,' Trump said of the CIA's assessment.

He added, however, that he doesn't necessarily oppose President Barack Obama's order for a review of campaign-season hacking. 'If you're gonna to do that, I think you should not just say "Russia". You should say other countries also, and maybe other individuals.'

The White House has said the probe would focus on any breaches by other countries, and past elections.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain has questions about Tillerson's business relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured)

Trump's incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus, shrugged off allegations that Russia helped Trump win.

He said: 'The Russians didn't tell Clinton to ignore Wisconsin and Michigan.' 

The Democratic candidate was expected to win in these two states but they went to Trump instead.

'She lost the election because her ideas were bad. She didn't fit the electorate. She ignored states that she shouldn't have and Donald Trump was the change agent,' Priebus said on ABC's 'This Week'.

Trump's win, he added, 'had nothing to do with the Russians'.

Turning to business matters, Trump said he is leaving his worldwide enterprise to his executives and children, vowing, that he will 'have nothing to do with management'. He's expected to discuss the arrangement at a news conference on Thursday.

He also said he is 'studying' the Paris climate agreement to reduce carbon emissions. But he doesn't want the agreement to put the US 'at a competitive disadvantage with other countries'.

Trump also departed from Republican orthodoxy by vowing to heavily tax companies that leave the US and then try to sell products here 'like we're a bunch of jerks'.

'That's the dumb market,' he said. 'I'm a big free trader, but it has to be fair.'