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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSenate Republicans prepared to kill special Russia hacking probe
How totally fucking unamerican of them.
Posted with permission.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/senate-republicans-prepared-kill-special-russia-hacking-probe?cid=sm_fb_maddow
Senate Republicans prepared to kill special Russia hacking probe
01/04/17 09:20 AM
By Steve Benen
Just two weeks ago, four prominent U.S. senators two Democrats and two Republicans issued a joint call for a special select committee to investigate allegations that Russia interfered with the U.S. presidential election. The effort, launched by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), seemed to increase the pressure on the GOP leadership to take the scandal seriously.
A day later, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), hardly a moderate, announced a plan of his own to introduce legislation that would create a select committee on cybersecurity, which would tackle, among other things, the suspected Russian espionage operation.
Two weeks later, Politico reports that those efforts, which appeared to be gaining momentum, are now effectively dead.
McCain said hed spoken to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) about the matter. McConnell prefers to use the Intelligence Committee to spearhead the cyber investigation, and McCain said their discussions had done little to move the GOP leader. He said he doesnt think we need it, McCain said.
Its a missed opportunity. As we discussed the other day, in a 52-48 Senate, small groups of Republicans have an enormous amount of leverage, if they choose to exercise it. Its a simple matter of arithmetic: if three GOP senators in this case, Graham, McCain, and Gardner tell their partys leadership that theyll balk at the partys other priorities until plans for a select committee move forward, McConnell & Co. would be more inclined to give them what they want.
The question is just how much they want a special investigation into a foreign adversary subverting the American democracy. The answer, evidently, is not that much.
That doesnt necessarily mean the whole mess will be swept under the rug. Republican leaders in both chambers are prepared to leave the matter in the hands of the Intelligence Committee chairs in this case, the Intelligence Committees are led by pro-Trump partisans whove generally shown passive indifference to the scandal but McCains Armed Services Committee can and will launch its own hearings, reportedly as early as tomorrow.
Graham told Politico, Were just going to move with the individual committees and see how that works. If it doesnt work, well regroup.
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)Botany
(70,447 posts)..... the republicans to rig elections.
Russia was looking at state's voter d-bases and from that info things like
"cross check" were used to get the outcome that "they" wanted.
flamingdem
(39,308 posts)and in the end there won't be a way to stop the alliance with the Russians.
Who ever thunk this would be our lives after the cold war
MurrayDelph
(5,292 posts)was compliant in hiding it.
bdamomma
(63,799 posts)they are knee deep in it.
spanone
(135,792 posts)roamer65
(36,744 posts)TheFrenchRazor
(2,116 posts)gulliver
(13,168 posts)Republicans let him.
Wounded Bear
(58,601 posts)bdamomma
(63,799 posts)traitors...................and enemies of the state. They did,t do do anything about Bush either this time has to be different this jerk is going to unleash some crap on this country and the American people. They are enablers of fascism.