Mitch McConnell Gave Russia the Green Light, Refused to Sign On to Protecting Election

With Russia identified as the agent behind DNC email break-in, the prime suspect in carrying out thefts of private emails from Democratic insiders, and actively trying to do more, President Obama put out a call for a bipartisan agreement to protect the election from Russian hacking.

In a secure room in the Capitol used for briefings involving classified information, administration officials broadly laid out the evidence U.S. spy agencies had collected, showing Russia’s role in cyber-intrusions in at least two states and in hacking the emails of the Democratic organizations and individuals.

And they made a case for a united, bipartisan front in response to what one official described as “the threat posed by unprecedented meddling by a foreign power in our election process.”

Democrats were quick to sign on.

The Democratic leaders in the room unanimously agreed on the need to take the threat seriously.

But there were at least two Republicans who wouldn’t agree. Chief among them, the Republican Majority Leader in the Senate.

According to several officials, McConnell raised doubts about the underlying intelligence and made clear to the administration that he would consider any effort by the White House to challenge the Russians publicly an act of partisan politics.

Why would a US Senator refuse to join in an agreement to secure an American election? Because McConnell had something to gain.