The Trumpettes Are Suspiciously Unconcerned About Russian Hacking

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Philip Bump comments on what might be the most suspicious thing Sessions said yesterday:

In his testimony, Sessions told Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) that he “did not recall” any meeting during which Trump expressed concern or curiosity about what Russia had been doing during the 2016 election. Sessions also testified that he himself, as the country’s and Trump’s lead law enforcement official, was never briefed on Russian interference.

Even if nothing else Sessions said on Tuesday had comported with what former FBI director James B. Comey said before the same committee last week, this did. Manchin asked Comey whether Trump had ever expressed curiosity about Russia’s attempts to swing the election; Comey said that he “[didn’t] remember any conversations with the president about the Russia election interference.”

Both before and after his election and inauguration, Trump’s attitude toward the Russia investigation has almost exclusively been that it’s a hassle, not an important step toward assuring the sanctity of American elections. (A sanctity, mind you, that has been his purported focus in establishing a commission to look at alleged voter fraud.) Instead, he has consistently disputed whether Russia was even behind the hacking — a line that Sessions mirrored in his testimony on Tuesday by stating that Russia’s role was the conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies without embracing it as his own.

Here’s Trump’s most recent comment:

Of course, Trump is downplaying anything that might question the legitimacy of his election. This suggests that somewhere in his addled brain he knows Russians were trying to help him win the election.

And, of course, this tells us he is less concerned about the security of the United States than he is in protecting his own sorry ass.

10 thoughts on “The Trumpettes Are Suspiciously Unconcerned About Russian Hacking”

  2. Well, remember that signal intelligence suggests that the Kushner may have requested a secure back channel that wasn’t touched by any other US government official.

    Without evidence, I won’t say “this could be treason” (though I’ll note it wouldn’t violate the laws of physics, and hence, is *possible*) but the innocent explanations are still “he saw opportunities that could be seized with a secret, unofficial, back channel with no one but him and the Russians knowing what was happening.”

    There aren’t *any* such opportunities that are for the good of the nation that would forbid the use of the ordinary process of setting up secret information channels using US assets.

    I don’t feel that the more innocent explanation – deep down, even TRUMP knew the Russians were helping him – accounts for the information already on the table, so I think it’s worse than that.

    Nevertheless, you raise a good point: even the most excruciatingly fair assessment is forced to conclude that he probably knows the investigation would turn up proof that the Russians were helping him. Even that is damning – putting ego puffery over the good of the nation.

  3. Yesterday, Sessions looked like an old, doddering man who can’t remember what he had for breakfast let alone any important government business. He should be relieved of duties.

  4. Dog, this gets tiresome!

    Sessions is sychophant dependent on his following “his master’s voice.”

    He did everything he could to deflecgt any blame or responsibility from his master, t-RUMPLE-thin-sKKKin, and himself.
    And when the new Senator from CA, Kamela Harris, came close to bursting his little bubble, McCain cut her off, and the criticism of her was that she was “hysterical.”
    She’s a female, you know, so that explains a lot to conservative male, like the ancient dino-sore-loser, John McCain, and others of his ilk.
    “Same as it ever was…”

  5. I would not say ‘unconcerned’. They are like the fish on a hook trying desperately to get off the hook. The one thing they can’t do is engage on the subject – deny, deflect, delay – but not give answers. If/when Trump becomes useless to Putin, and if Putin does have Kompromat on Trump – incriminating evidence of a crime, will he release it for spite?

    Imagine if Trump is impeached and President Pence (gag) gives Trump a full pardon on all things Russian.. that the Russians then release financial evidence of criminal fraud by Trump – and Trump winds up under NY state indictment which Pence can’t do anything about. I am ever the optimist that Trump will get what he deserves.

    It’s in poor taste to suggest Trump give up golf and try baseball.

  6. Trump is now under investigation for obstruction of justice. Happy birthday, Donald!!

  7. I cannot believe this coup was allowed to proceed as far as it did. All who kept this coup alive should be put on trial and then hung, if necessary.

  9. Bardi, I’m not much for hangings, but I do feel strongly that every piece of the machinery that helped bring Trump to the Presidency needs to be “hung out to dry” (viewed and publicly shamed), not “hanged by the neck until dead”.

    There’s a few memes I’d like to spread and one of them is, “all the Republicans had to do was denounce a man with no experience; with a capacity for telling “whoppers” that would be fun at the local bar, but is horrifying when it comes to actual leadership; who was also a serial rapist; and who spoke hatefully, and with gross irresponsibility”

    Just that. They could have continued to pretend they believe in the Constitution, and fiscal responsibility (and not just “let’s cut off health care for old people so our real constituency doesn’t have to forego their second yacht”), and free, open markets (not just “come on, *workers* don’t fill our campaign coffers, *bosses* do. And even those bosses are penny ante compared to the billionaires who order those bosses to slash jobs and ship the rest overseas!”).

    “There are great Republicans to vote for, but Donald J. Trump doesn’t know what he’s doing, and tells such ridiculous stories it’s clear he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Please… put us in office as a check against the anti-Christ Hillary Clinton, but don’t vote for this dumb-ass, bigoted, nut-job”.

    Just that. But they chose not to do that.

    Now we are faced with corruption to the core (“oh, if someone *chooses* to pay me for goods and services, with the intent of giving me gifts, *that’s* not a *gift* because the UK intelligence *did* believe the Niger story – oh, wait, that’s a different blatant lie we have to defend, let me think about this…”), threats to our electoral process, and possibly our national security; a President who blurts out intel to adversaries, and then confirms the source; judges who think that workers should die to protect company property, or, if they refuse to risk a huge danger of dying, should be fired; and the normal Republicans reflex-hatred of everything the Democratic administration did.

    (You know why 9/11 happened without any attempt to prevent it? Because *CLINTON* and *GORE* said that terrorism was a big deal, and anything they said was to be disregarded and dismantled. Seriously. And people announced that “the grownups” were back in charge!)

    Um. I’m in a talky mood this morning.

    Anyway: yeah, I agree that those who kept this alive should be hung out and shamed. Using law enforcement to change an election *is* a coup, and a shameful one.

    But I’m still not much for executions.

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