GOP leader invents story about trying to stop Russia from helping Trump

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy lied by claiming that Republicans “pushed Obama” to act to protect American elections against Russian interference.

“The idea of a foreign entity trying to move into our elections is something Republicans have been working on for quite some time,” McCarthy said on Sunday during “Face the Nation” on CBS.

“We were the ones that pushed Obama, who ignored our concerns of what was going forward when he was president,” McCarthy added. “This is something Republicans have stood up for a long time.”

Republicans did no such thing, and McCarthy is engaging in shocking revisionist history by claiming otherwise.

In fact, President Barack Obama was the one pushing to alert both state officials and the public to what his administration learned about Russian attempts to help Trump win in 2016. But Republican leaders actively resisted Obama’s efforts to publicize and address the seriousness of the threat.

A group of eight congressional leaders, which included Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and then-Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, were briefed on the Russian attack.

But instead of working to protect national security, McConnell threatened to publicly accuse Obama of sabotaging Trump.

“I will condemn you and the Obama administration for trying to mess up this election,” McConnell reportedly told then-CIA Director John Brennan.

McConnell’s threats worked. He and his Republican allies made sure that the public did not become aware of the extent of Russia’s interference to help Trump until much later — after the election.

At the time, McCarthy was House majority leader. And even before congressional leaders were briefed on the Russia threat, McCarthy privately admitted that he thought Trump was so compromised by Russia, he might well be on Putin’s payroll.

McCarthy’s false story is part of an ongoing conservative campaign to declare “case closed” and ignore evidence that Trump hoped to benefit from Russia’s election interference, and that he tried obstruct the investigation into that interference.

There are still multiple ongoing investigations into Trump’s actions and those of top officials on his presidential campaign, including his son.

The GOP propaganda effort is failing, and McCarthy’s bald-faced lie makes it clear that Republicans want to avoid the truth at all costs.

Republicans issued a stand-down order in the middle of Russia’s assault, and McCarthy knows it — but he’s trying to pretend it never happened.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.