Investigate The Hackers And Ignore Trump's Chaff - by Joe Conason
In the loud debate over the alleged Russian intelligence attack on our democratic system, Americans have heard all kinds of specious assertions from Donald Trump, his minions, and others who reject the findings of the US intelligence agencies, for their own reasons. Trump clearly fears that a full investigation of those allegations will permanently discredit his narrow electoral victory, already tainted by Hillary Clinton’s popular-vote majority. It is telling that he described the hacking probes as a partisan “political witch hunt” before the nation’s spy chiefs even presented him with their evidence.
Telling, but not surprising: As usual, Trump is sending up chaff designed to distract from his own dubious conduct and connections.
Who interfered illegally with the 2016 presidential election and why should be a matter of fundamental importance to all Americans, regardless of political affiliation. It doesn’t matter whether the hackers who invaded email accounts associated with the Democratic Party and the Clinton campaign decided the election’s result, a claim that can never be proved or disproved. (Trump won Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin by less than one percent of the vote, which could be attributed to almost anything, including voter error.)
It doesn’t matter whether Clinton ran a “good” or a “bad” campaign, it doesn’t matter whether she deserved to win or lose, and it doesn’t matter whether the information released was scandalous or boring, which are all simply opinions that have no weight in this investigation. And it also doesn’t matter whether previous U.S. administrations historically interfered with elections in other countries, as they assuredly did, since that cannot justify attempts to rob ordinary American citizens of their democratic rights.
more
http://www.nationalmemo.com/investigate-hackers-ignore-trumps-chaff/?utm_campaign=website&utm_source=sd&utm_medium=email
= new reply since forum marked as read
