For decades, a cornerstone of American foreign policy and keeping the country safe has been the reliability of intelligence agencies like the CIA. However, as It becomes clear that Vladimir Putin and Russia meddled with the presidential election, Donald Trump and Republicans like Sen. Ron Johnson are calling into question the CIA’s credibility and casting a shadow of doubt on an intelligence agency that has produced invaluable information since their inception.
As Chair of the Committee on Homeland Security and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Ron Johnson has time and again relied on and trusted the information given to him by the CIA. However, now that it is clear Vladimir Putin and Russia directly interfered in our presidential election by hacking the DNC, DCCC, and Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and stealing internal documents that were then leaked, Sen. Johnson is rejecting the CIA’s findings.
“When it doesn’t fit Sen. Johnson’s partisan agenda, he is willing to go so far as to risk America’s safety and security by rejecting the findings of the CIA showing Russia attacked the United States, which he has not called into question in the past,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Martha Laning said on Thursday.
In September, Sen. Johnson went to so far as to say “[Russia] is probably meddling in our electoral process as they’ve done in other places in Eastern Europe,” but that their actions would not change the outcome. Yet, when the CIA, who he has trusted and relied on time and again, shows him evidence to the contrary, Sen. Johnson denies their findings for purely political partisan reasons.
“It is sad Sen. Johnson has stooped so low as to jeopardize America’s safety and security just to fit his partisan agenda. As a leading senator in the intelligence community, it is his duty to take the CIA seriously as he has in the past and not dismiss Russia’s actions and true motives,” Laning concluded.
