Twelve days before 70-year-old President-elect Donald Trump gets sworn it, Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told NBC’s Meet the Press that that Trump should take evidence of Russian hacking seriously. After getting his intel briefing Jan. 6, Trump said that whatever Russia did in the 2016 election it didn’t affect the outcome. McCain and Graham want no reset with Russian President Vladimir Putin, only new sanctions. “In a couple of weeks, Donald Trump will be the defender of the free world and democracy,” expecting Trump to accept his foreign policy. “You should let everybody know in America, Republicans and Democrats, that you’re going to make Russia pay a price for trying to interfere,” said Graham, dictating before Trump takes office U.S. foreign policy. Graham was forced to drop out the presidential race after losing New Hampshire Feb. 5, 2016.
Graham and McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee, have much in common, especially their antipathy toward Trump. Both lashed out a Trump during the hotly contested Republican primaries where Trump knocked off 17 experienced Republican candidates. No Republicans left the GOP primaries unscathed, especially Graham who polled at under one percent, embarrassing himself and home state of South Carolina. Now McCain, who had his own dust-ups with Trump, wants Trump to follow his belligerent rhetoric toward Putin and the Kremlin. America’s left-leaning press now uses McCain and Graham to advance their agenda against Trump, but, more importantly, against Russia. Whatever the intel community found about Russian hacking, it’s no different than the U.S. counter-intelligence agencies trying, by whatever means, to influence Russian politics.
Democratic nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton claimed that Putin has a vendetta against her for influencing the 2012 Russian parliamentary elections. U.S. officials routinely published stories in the Internet, broadcast and print outlets claiming Putin stole the election, causing protests and riots on Moscow streets. Yet McCain and Graham see fit to call Putin’s alleged “hacking” or concerted propaganda campaign against the U.S. and “act of war. “ Trump wants to start fresh with Russia and see where it goes. McCain and Graham want more sanctions, driving already bad relations with Moscow even lower. Whether or not Putin preferred Trump over Hillary should be of no consequence to intel agencies, instead focusing how to beef up future cyber security. Neither McCain nor Graham, from their Senate jobs, can dictate U.S. foreign policy.
Whatever reasons Russia or some other party hacked into the Democratic National Committee or emails of key Hillary campaign officials, it’s all part of deteriorated U.S.-Russian relations. Both countries routinely engage in counter-intelligence activities, including hacking, propaganda, disinformation, fake news stories or any other way to advance political agendas against adversaries. Whether any of those activities can be stopped is anyone’s guess. Trump wants intel agencies to come up with a plan to beef up cyber security. Creating better bilateral relations is really the only way to get both sides to lighten up on counter-intelligence activities. McCain and Graham act like the U.S. doesn’t hack and engage in propaganda, disinformation and fake news when it comes to Russia or other rivals. U.S. waged a concerted propaganda campaign designed to foment revolution in Kiev, Ukraine Feb. 22, 2014.
Neither McCain nor Graham talks about U.S. counter-intelligence activities designed to advance the U.S. agenda around the globe, whether it’s about Russia, Iran, North Korea or any other adversary. Friday’s declassified intel reports says that “Russia tried to undermine public faith in the democratic process, damage Clinton, making it harder for her to win and harm her presidency if she did,” leaping to conclusions from speculation about Russian counter-intelligence activities. While blaming Putin, the intel report didn’t say that all countries, adversaries or not, have preferences for U.S. presidential candidates. Putin knew Hillary’s strong backing of U.S.-funded Syrian terror groups trying to topple Syrian President Bahar al-Assad. Putin knew that Hillary backed McCain’s call for a dangerous no-fly zone, urging President Barack Obama Oct. 12, 2016 to shoot down Russian or Syrian jets if necessary.
When Trump takes the oath Jan. 20, McCain and Graham will find out who’s commander-in-chief. Telling Trump to go down the same path as Obama with deteriorated relations with Russia won’t go over too well, since voters sent Trump to the Oval Office to mend fences with Russia. Tweeting Jan. 8 that having a better relationship with Russia is a good thing, Trump tipped his hand what he plans to do after inauguration. “Only stupid people or fools would think that it is bad,” Trump tweeted. Jan. 8. “We have enough problems around the world without yet another one. When I am president, Russia will respect us far more than they do now and both countries will, perhaps, work together to solve some of the many great and pressing problems and issues in the WORLD!” Trump signaled he won’t let McCain and Graham sabotage his plan to reset U.S.-Relations.
