7 Things You Need To Know About The CIA’s Accusation of Russia Intervening in The Election

Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported that the Russian government attempted to interfere with the American election by providing hacked information to Wikileaks – and more specifically, that the Russians were attempting to swing the election to Donald Trump.

….

1. We Don’t Know What The CIA Actually Revealed. …. We haven’t seen any of that intelligence ourselves. So we have to decide: do we trust the CIA, or do we trust Trump to tell the truth on this one?

2. Trump’s Take On The CIA Is Harmful. ….. But more importantly, this is Trump actively undermining the CIA – the same agency he said should waterboard people for intelligence purposes. Just a couple of years ago, Trump was ripping Obama for insufficient respect for the CIA. Now he’s ripping them himself.

3. The Anti-Russian Democrats And Media Are Hypocrites. …… Now they’re all hot and bothered about Russia. That’s hilarious. As far as the media, Trump’s totally right to call them out: “Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory!”

4. The Anti-Investigation Republicans Are Hypocrites. …. Now, Reince Priebus says that “there’s been no conclusive or specific report to say [Russia was involved]….Chuck, this is insane.” That’s nonsense. For decades, Republicans have fretted over the impact of Russian expansionism and intervention. Now, they don’t care because presumably it was good for Trump that Russia intervened. That’s disgusting.

5. Trump Probably Would Have Won Anyway. ….

6. Investigations Into Russia Are Justified. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said this morning, “Obviously, any foreign breach of our cyber security measures is disturbing.” McConnell says the Senate Intelligence Committee will review the issue. That’s worthwhile. Whether or not you like what Russia did here, the fact is that Russia shouldn’t be doing it. …..

7. Trump Is Pro-Putin. This evidence is merely the latest indicator that Putin thinks Trump is someone he can use. There’s a reason Putin is excited about Trump’s potential secretary of state pick, Rex Tillerson. There’s a reason Trump continues to deny any Russian wrongdoing during this election cycle, and there’s a reason Trump went on national television and compared America’s human rights record with Putin’s. That’s not a good thing.

All of these things can be true simultaneously – but to acknowledge that would mean putting aside a rooting interest and instead observing the truth. Vladimir Putin is a bad guy. Trump would have won regardless of Putin. And everybody’s a hypocrite.