McConnell: ‘Indisputable’ Evidence That Russians Tried To Affect 2016 Election

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) asserted Tuesday that there is “indisputable” evidence that Russians hacked the 2016 U.S. election, a position in direct contradiction to the uncertainty President Donald Trump expressed on the subject at his joint presser with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

“Over the last few years, there is the annexation of Crimea, the invasion of eastern Ukraine, not to mention the indisputable evidence that they tried to impact the 2016 election,” McConnell said. “So make no mistake about it, I would say to our friends in Europe, we understand the Russian threat and I think that is a widespread view here in the United States Senate among members of both parties.”

McConnell also emphasized the importance of America’s NATO allies, another quiet repudiation of the President who spend his European trip insulting many of those countries.

“I want them to understand that in this country there are a lot of people in both parties who believe that these alliances painstakingly built in the wake of the end of World War II are important and we want to maintain them,” he said.

He concluded by commenting on measures Congress could take to prevent further Russian election hacking.

“Well, I mean, there’s some possibilities. Sen. Rubio, for example, has got a bill that targets the 2018 elections, the cycle we’re right in now with, as I understand it, potential penalties if the Russians do it again,” he said. “There’s a possibility we might well take up legislation related to this. In the meantime, I think the Russians need to know that there are a lot of us who fully understand what happened in 2016 and it really better not happen again in 2018.”

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