Mitch McConnell vs. Secure Elections
FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | JULY 11, 2019
“If Russia or any other foreign adversary successfully attacks our elections in 2020, Senator McConnell and President Trump will bear the brunt of responsibility for the damage done to the country.”
Months after his report was made public in April, Special Counsel Robert Mueller is scheduled to testify next week before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee.
In Mueller’s only public comments on his report, made in late May, he opened and closed his brief remarks by stressing “the central allegation of our indictments – that there were multiple, systemic efforts to interfere in our election” by Russia.
Intelligence officials have made clear throughout the year that we can expect similar attacks on the 2020 elections. Dan Coats, Director of National Intelligence, said in briefings for Congress yesterday that there are already “active threats” to the 2020 elections.
Meanwhile, President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have made clear that they are not prepared to do anything to prevent these threats to the integrity of our votes.
President Trump has stood silent on the dangers of these threats since he was elected. And he has all but invited the Russians to again interfere with our elections in 2020, saying that he would consider accepting information on his opponent from a foreign government.
Senator McConnell has refused to schedule any legislation to protect the country against a repeat of the “multiple, systemic efforts” to attack our elections that occurred in 2016.
This refusal flies in the face of election security legislation already passed by the House to strengthen the country’s voting systems and bipartisan bills introduced in the Senate to protect our elections.
If Russia or any other foreign adversary successfully attacks our elections in 2020, Senator McConnell and President Trump will bear the brunt of responsibility for the damage done to the country.
__________
Fred Wertheimer is the Founder and President of Democracy 21, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to strengthen our democracy and ensure the integrity and fairness of government decisions and elections. See previous Notes from Fred here.
