Romney Breaks With Trump, Several GOPers On Debunked Ukraine Conspiracy Theory

Mitt Romney speaks to reporters after dining with President-elect Donald Trump at Jean Georges restaurant on November 29, 2016. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

On Tuesday, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) rejected President Donald Trump and several of his GOP allies’ bogus conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, hacked the 2016 election.

“I saw no evidence from our intelligence community, nor from the representatives today for the Department of State, that there is any evidence of any kind that suggests that Ukraine interfered in our elections,” Romney said after State Department official David Hale’s hearing with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“We have ample evidence that Russia interfered in our elections,” he added.

National security and intelligence officials have universally concluded that Russia meddled with the election, though Trump has repeatedly pushed the debunked Ukraine conspiracy theory in his pursuit to dig up dirt on his political rivals.

Several of Romney’s GOP colleagues in the Senate, such as Sens. John Kennedy (R-LA) and Ron Johnson (R-WI), have embraced the conspiracy theory in their defense of Trump amid the House’s impeachment investigation into his Ukraine-Biden scheme.

Latest News
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: