McConnell blames Obama for Russian attack McConnell refused to stop

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blamed President Barack Obama for the Russian election attack in 2016 — when McConnell is the one who stopped Obama from alerting Americans to the problem.

McConnell made his dishonest attack in opening remarks on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday morning.

“Maybe stronger leadership would have left the Kremlin less emboldened, maybe tampering with our democracy wouldn’t have seemed so very tempting,” McConnell said. “Instead, the previous administration sent the Kremlin the signal they could get away with almost anything.”

“So is it surprising we got the brazen interference detailed in special counsel Mueller’s report?”

To take McConnell’s argument seriously, it would be necessary to ignore McConnell’s own actions.

When the Obama administration became aware that Russia was targeting and attacking the election, McConnell was one of the senior officials alerted and briefed. The Obama administration was attempting to create a united front of American leaders, across parties, that would publicly call out the foreign attack.

Instead, McConnell refused. The Russian attack was trying to help Trump against Hillary Clinton, and McConnell did not want to do anything that could paint the Trump campaign in a negative light, even if that meant putting party loyalty over America.

So McConnell threatened the Obama administration instead.

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

Thanks to McConnell’s obstruction, the public was not alerted to Russia’s actions. America was attacked — and McConnell helped cover it up.

Now, since the Mueller report has revealed the detail and extent of that attack, as well as Trump’s attempts to obstruct justice during the investigation of the attack, McConnell is trying to blame Obama instead — as is the rest of the Republican Party.

Trump is the one who tried to benefit from Russia’s election interference. McConnell is the one who refused to expose it. They are the guilty parties who are desperately trying to shift the blame.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.