Sen. Lindsey Graham came right out of the gate with a false statement at the hearing where Sally Yates is testifying about the Mike Flynn/Russia scandal. Graham said that the joint intelligence report found no collusion between Trump and Russia. This was a false statement.
Video of Graham:
Sen. Graham misrepresents intelligence agencies joint report on Russian interference. Says the report says there was no collusion. FALSE. pic.twitter.com/QF18Vp4dtJ
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) May 8, 2017
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Here is what the joint report concluded, “We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin, and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments.”
The report never mentions Trump collusion with Russia. For Senator Graham to suggest that the report concluded that there was no evidence of collusion was misleading and false.
Graham’s tone is suggesting that Republicans are going to try to use this hearing as a cleanup operation to distance Trump from Russia.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
