And the Evidence is…
October 5 | Posted by mrossol | American Thought, Russia, The Left, TrumpWell, I’m still waiting…
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WSJ 10/5/2017
Russia Reality Check
As the Republican Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Democratic Ranking Member held a press conference Wednesday about their investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election, a nearby sign highlighted their effort: 11 open hearings, 100plus people interviewed, 4,000 transcript pages and 100,000 pages of documents.
As for results, Senators Richard Burr (R., N.C.) and Mark Warner (D., Va.) didn’t disclose much more than we already knew. First, Russia was meddling in the elections. Second, there are no “initial findings” about Donald Trump’s alleged collusion with the Russians because they don’t have any. The investigation remains “open.”
Meanwhile, for all the supposed concern about Moscow undermining American democracy— from the same folks who mocked Mitt Romney in 2012 for calling Russia our biggest geopolitical foe—the findings about what Vladimir Putin is doing elicit barely a yawn unless the word “Trump” is attached.
But for people not driven by an agenda, there’s still plenty to worry about. Messrs. Burr and Warner report that
though the Russians failed in penetrating the electoral systems in 21 states, they were knocking at the door. The Senators also report that social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook were unprepared for Russian manipulation, via political advertising and fake accounts. Mr. Warner said the goal seemed to be to “sow chaos and drive division in our country.” And if you add up all they spent, he said, the Russians got “a decent rate of return” for their investments. Both agree that Mr. Putin’s interference continues.
Perhaps the committee will still turn up evidence of the missing link between Mr. Trump and the Russians, but for now it remains as elusive as the Yeti. Meantime, Mr. Burr did note that for all the evidence, all the hours of testimony, all the many witnesses, the committee has “hit a wall” with one crucial witness: the former British spy Christopher Steele, who compiled the infamous dossier full of discredited allegations about Mr. Trump and the Russians. We hope the Senators get to the bottom of that disinformation campaign too.
Moscow meddled, but still no hard evidence of Trump collusion.
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