House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) has found a way to blame Obama for Russia’s election meddling conspiracy for Trump.
In a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, Rep. Nunes said, “The Putin regime presents a pressing threat to American interests, including through Moscow’s long-running influence operations against the United States. The House Intelligence Committee has been investigating these threats for many years: in 2014—the year the Russians began their operation targeting the 2016 elections—I warned about Russia’s worldwide influence operations. In April 2016 I stated that the United States’ failure to predict Putin’s plans and intentions is ‘the biggest intelligence failure that we’ve had since 9/11.’ Although the Obama Administration failed to act on the Committee’s warnings, it’s gratifying to see that Russian agents involved in these operations have now been identified and indicted.â€
Blaming Obama can’t save Nunes and Trump
It was Barack Obama who wanted to issue a joint statement condemning Russian election meddling with Republicans, but Mitch McConnell refused to cooperate. It was the Obama administration that secured documents relating to the Russia investigation so that they couldn’t be destroyed by Trump and the Republicans. It was Obama who warned for years that America’s election system and infrastructure needed to be upgraded and repaired.
Obama wasn’t the problem. The problem was and continues to be that Trump and his Republican enablers deny their role in helping willing accepting assistance from the Russians to win a presidential election.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
As Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said, “The defendants posed as politically and socially active Americans. Advocating for and against particular candidates.†The Russians were advocating for Trump and against Clinton. With that fact in mind, Devin Nunes blame Obama gambit is a laughable display of pathetic spin for a lackey drowning in scandal.
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
