We Need A Narrative On The Russian Connection
The Republican attempt at impeaching President Joe Biden on the basis of his son’s actions has collapsed with the revelation that their star witness, Alexander Smirnov, was working with Russian intelligence. They’re trying to put up another, even weaker, attempt at impeachment to distract from this embarrassment.
The Russians have interfered in the last several US elections. They have used bots to distribute misinformation on social media along with much more complex operations. The release of Hillary Clinton’s emails had Russian involvement. And now we learn that Hunter Biden’s laptop was a Russian operation.
All Russian involvement is dangerous. Spreading divisive conspiracy theories undermines voter choices. Co-opting legislators, and those legislators’ willingness to be co-opted is of another order. Republican House members who have pushed for impeachment have been duped by Russia, in the kindest interpretation. An intermediate interpretation is that their eagerness to undermine a Democratic administration made them vulnerable to Russian influence. And it is fully possible that they find Russia a more amenable partner than their own Democratic fellow citizens and are therefore happy to push its narratives.
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