Most coverage of Comey’s testimony last week focused on the former director repeatedly calling the president a liar and the liar-in-chief’s subsequent efforts to retaliate and obfuscate. But we shouldn’t forget Comey’s remarks about Russian interference in the U.S. election:
HEINRICH: The president has repeatedly talked about the Russian investigation into the U.S. — or Russia’s involvement in the U.S. Election cycle as a hoax and fake news. Can you talk a little bit about what you saw as FBI director and, obviously, only the parts that you can share in this setting that demonstrate how serious this action actually was and why there was an investigation in the first place?
COMEY: Yes, sir. There should be no fuzz on this whatsoever. The Russians interfered in our election during the 2016 cycle. They did with purpose. They did it with sophistication. They did it with overwhelming technical efforts. It was an active measures campaign driven from the top of that government. There is no fuzz on that. It is a high confidence judgment of the entire intelligence community and the members of this committee have seen the intelligence. It’s not a close call. That happened. That’s about as unfake as you can possibly get. It is very, very serious, which is why it’s so refreshing to see a bipartisan focus on that. This is about America, not about a particular party.
I don’t share Comey’s optimism about a “bipartisan focus” on this issue. Trump refuses to believe the Russians had anything to do with his election because he perceives it would diminish his glorious Electoral College victory.
Most Republicans in congress aren’t outright denying that Russia interfered yet, but they are downplaying it, even the so-called Russia hawks like Lil’ Marco. If the evolving view on Fox News and elected Republicans’ own spineless behavior in the past are leading indicators, the party will soon officially join Trump on De Nile river cruise.
That’s why the appointment of a special counselor, while a good first step, isn’t sufficient. We need an independent commission that is accountable to the public to explore the interference issue and develop a set of conclusions and an action plan for preventing future activities that undermine our democracy.
Link to Comey’s testimony here.