Ripped by the media and Cold War hawks on Capitol Hill, 70-year-old President-elect Donald Trump awaits his intel briefing Friday, Jan. 6 on proof that Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin ordered hack of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Campaign Chairman John D. Podesta. Trump’s been skeptical of categorical claims of Russian guilt by the White House, war hawks on Capitol Hill and 17 intel agencies all pointing to Putin and the Kremlin. Democratic nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton claims Russian influence tilted the 2016 to Trump. She also blamed FBI Director James Comey for her loss, reopening the email investigation a two weeks before Election Day. Podesta focused on Russian interference in the 2016 election, begging Electors to defer their obligation to certify the election until receiving a full intel briefing.
Trump’s skepticism stems not only from questioning the intel community but also the logical leap that Russia sought to get Trump elected. All foreign governments have preferences for individual presidential candidates. Holding preferences for Trump over Hillary doesn’t mean that Putin influenced the Nov. 8 election. Trump objects to CIA Director John O. Brennen concluding that Putin tried to get him elected. Whether or not anyone checks exit polls, voters in key battleground states clearly voted for Trump because he offered hope for future jobs. Yet Brennen sees fit to not only finger Putin in hacking but trying to tip the election to Trump. WikiLeaks’ 45-year-old founder Julian Assange told Fox News Sean Hannity Jan. 3 in an exclusive interview at Ecuador’s London embassy that Russia or a state was not responsible for the data dump before the Nov. 8 election.
Whether or not Assange is telling the truth is anyone’s guess. While seeming sincere with Hannity, Assange is a shrewd operator, refusing to reveal his sources, no matter what the prodding. Questioning the intel community’s data, Trump wants to be 100% certain before fingering Putin and the Kremlin. Obama decided Jan. 2, based on his own intel briefings, to expel 35 diplomatic personnel and slap more sanctions on Russia. Trump’s hinted to Putin that once he takes office, he’ll fix Obama’s knee-jerk reaction, driving U.S.-Russian relations to the lowest point since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Members of the intel community and Cold War hawks on Capitol Hill hope to derail Trump’s campaign promise to reset U.S.-Russian relations. Calling Russian hacks an “act of war,” Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) want more Russian sanctions.
Questioning the intel community on Russian hacking, Trump’s been accused by the media and Capitol Hill war hawks as insulting the intel community. Trump recalls the intel community’s certainty about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction before the March 20, 2003 Iraq War. However the wires got crossed in the Iraq War, Trump will see tomorrow the intel community’s best case against Putin and the Kremlim. Whatever they find, Trump finds himself battling the media and Capitol Hill Republicans when he seeks reset U.S.-Russian relations. With Cold War hysteria sweeping Congress, Trump’s got a lot of convincing to do get Capitol Hill war hawks onboard. McCain, Graham and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, have no intent of giving Putin the benefit of the doubt on the Russian hacking scandal.
What the media and Capitol Hill war hawks don’t get is that Trump becomes commander in chief Jan. 20, 2017. Before Trump steps into the Oval Office the media and his critics have already decided what’s best for U.S. foreign policy, despite voters speaking loudly Nov. 8. Whatever happened with Russian hacking or alleged attempts to influence the election doesn’t change for one-minute Trump’s plan to reset U.S.-Russian relations. When Putin invaded Crimea March 1, 2014, the U.S. and European Union went apoplectic, slapping Russia with economic sanctions. Most of Putin’s EU partners want to see sanctions end, despite the recent flap over the U.S. election. When Trump takes office, he needs to weigh out the benefits of starting fresh with the Kremlin over dwelling on Russia’s past behavior. When relations deteriorate and suspicions rise, more spying often follows.
Calling alleged Russian spying an “act of war,” Senate war hawks led by McCain have no intent of letting Trump reset U.S.-Russian relations. Slapping more sanctions on Russia does nothing to make the world a safer place. Eight years of President Barack Obama led to the worst U.S.-Russian relations since the bottom of the Cold War. McCain urged Obama Oct. 12 to set up a dangerous no-fly zone in Syria to protect Saudi-U.S.-Turkey backed terrorists seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Obama’s failed Syrian policy led to fall of the rebel stronghold in Aleppo Dec. 22, 2016. Obama’s Syrian policy, essentially mirroring McCain’s, pits the U.S. against Russia, prompting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinemeir Oct. 22, 2016 to warn against WWIII. Whatever happened before with Russia, Trump earned the right Nov. 8 to reset U.S.-Russian relations and set U.S. foreign policy.
