Sitting Senator actively spreading Russian propaganda & undermining our democracy.

[MelissaB]

Link to tweet

This is not a joke. This is not “the other side”. This is what knowingly undermining our nation security and our democracy looks like.

Link to tweet

Sen. John Kennedy repeats Ukraine conspiracy theory about DNC server

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) reiterated a debunked conspiracy theory on "Fox News Sunday" that Ukraine may have interfered in the 2016 presidential election by hacking the Democratic National Committee's computer servers, despite consensus in the U.S. intelligence community that Russia was responsible for the attacks.

The exchange:

CHRIS WALLACE: "Senator Kennedy, who do you believe was responsible for hacking the DNC and Clinton campaign computers — their emails. Was it Russia or Ukraine?"

KENNEDY: "I don't know. Nor do you. Nor do any of us."

WALLACE "Let me just interrupt to say that the entire intelligence community says it was Russia."

KENNEDY: "Right, but it could also be Ukraine. I'm not saying that I know one way or the other."

Why it matters: Kennedy's comments come after former National Security Council official Fiona Hill publicly testified in an impeachment hearing last week that the conspiracy is "a fictional narrative that is being perpetrated and propagated by the Russian security services themselves."

"The unfortunate truth is that Russia was the foreign power that systematically attacked our democratic institutions in 2016," Hill said. "This is the public conclusion of our intelligence agencies, confirmed in bipartisan congressional reports."

Between the lines: Some Republicans have offered the Ukraine interference conspiracy as a justification for the Trump administration's decision to freeze military aid until Ukraine carried out an investigation into the 2016 election — an allegation now at the heart of the impeachment inquiry.

Trump brought up the conspiracy theory in his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and repeated the claim in an interview on "Fox and Friends" last week.
"A lot of it had to do, they say, with Ukraine," Trump said. "The FBI went in and they told them get out of here, we’re not giving it to you. They gave the server to CrowdStrike ... which is a company owned by a very wealthy Ukrainian, and I still want to see that server."

More & the video here: https://www.axios.com/john-kennedy-ukraine-crowdstrike-conspiracy-theory-5f662a44-9bdc-4a41-a2d3-e56575f8bc83.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=twsocialshare&utm_campaign=organic

Worth the click to watch the video.

[MelissaB]

1. I found a video on twitter

that I'll also add to the OP.

Link to tweet

[magicarpet]

3. Senators and staff recently told secretly that the 2016 election interference was.....

... Russia not Ukraine,.... repeat NOT UKRAINE.

Kennedy should go shit in his own shoe, same applies to Rep.Nunes & Gym Jackoff Jacket off Jordan.

**************

Begin snip:

In a briefing that closely aligned with Dr. Hill’s testimony, American intelligence officials informed senators and their aides in recent weeks that Russia had engaged in a years long campaign to essentially frame Ukraine as responsible for Moscow’s own hacking of the 2016 election, according to three American officials. The briefing came as Republicans stepped up their defenses of Mr. Trump in the Ukraine affair.

The revelations demonstrate Russia’s persistence in trying to sow discord among its adversaries — and show that the Kremlin apparently succeeded, as unfounded claims about Ukrainian interference seeped into Republican talking points. American intelligence agencies believe Moscow is likely to redouble its efforts as the 2020 presidential campaign intensifies. The classified briefing for senators also focused on Russia’s evolving influence tactics, including its growing ability to better disguise operations.

End snip:

Link:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/22/us/politics/ukraine-russia-interference.html

[dewsgirl]

2. This is what set off Seth Abramson's tweetstorm

earlier. I hope the media pay attention, I know most of them follow him.

[pangaia]

4. first time i ever heard him talk...

i doubt he is intentionally lying. i think he is just stupid...and blathering out what somebody else said...

[Sneederbunk]

5. What do the Russians have on Kennedy?

He spent July 4 2018 in Moscow with other Rethug senators. What do the Russians have on him?

[NonPC]

6. One of Two Things?

Never rule out stupid. Or perhaps, maybe he is being bribed or blackmailed? Generous Russian campaign contributions and / or long weekends with Epstein's girls seem to be favorite ways into certain Republicans' hearts. Money or sex? Did Kennedy make any trips to Europe lately, possibly coinciding with trips by Rudy's buddies?

[Mr. Ected]

7. He's a freaking Senator. Being stupid is no excuse.

If he is concealing his own participation in a criminal conspiracy, he should hang. All of them should hang. Fuck the literal application. This is treason. This is how to initiate a Civil War. There are no worse transgressions.

[spanone]

10. He's not stupid, there is some other explanation....

Education: Magdalen College, University of Virginia School of Law, Vanderbilt University

[Mr. Ected]

16. He's bought and paid for

And his constituents have pinwheels in their eyes, courtesy talk radio and FOX.

[spanone]

17. Bingo!!!! In my many years, I've seen nothing like this.

[Mr. Ected]

19. They're leading us in the direction of civil unrest....and maybe worse

Normally, I'm not one to get overly exercised over such things, but this is different. The world around us is also reshaping, and the same corrosive influences that are stripping our democratic republic down to an edifice are spinning their webs around other societies as well. Our electorate has been decidedly divided into Trumpers and never-Trumpers; to sit on the sideline these days means you're simply not paying attention. I am (peacefully) at odds with friends and family in a way that transcends politics and calls into question their judgment and their tacit acceptance of what can easily be seen by others as brainwashing.

Strange days indeed.

[ancianita]

8. So why did Chris Wallace ask the question as an actual CHOICE. As a setup? Or out of stupidity?

Or as an entry to letting Kennedy, stupid or not, spout more unproven allegations to add to the debunked claims the Republicans have already made.

[Traildogbob]

9. Well then

Intellegence briefs Kennedy that is WAS Russia, but he says but it could also be Ukraine. Alright, when can we expect Nunez, Jack-it-off Jordon and Gooliani sending the back channel investigators into Russia to rid the corruption that trump is at war to defeat? When? I am just an average Joe, no training in journalistic questioning and follow up, so, why is it so damn easy for me to instantly have a follow up to bull shit, but the highly paid media pros, never, never have the obvious follow up?

[Demovictory9]

11. Yep. Scary stuff

[bdamomma]

12. All thinking people know

it was Russia. Period. The repigs have no respect for the American people, not all of us are tRump cultists.

Horrible spreading lies and propaganda, worst thing to happen to our democracy. Putin can drop dead.

[DemoTex]

13. Senator Kennedy, do dinosaurs currently roam south Texas?

Kennedy: “I don’t know. Nor do you. Nor do any of us.

[usaf-vet]

14. Sen John Kennedy. Obviously this is not the bright articulate Sen. Kennedy. This one is an IDIOT.

There should be a price to pay when you are not smart enough to listen to our intelligence expert.

[debsy]

15. I and others have said since before Trump was inaugurated that the GOP is implicated...

... completely in the crimes against our nation. It was quite obvious to me back then that they knew everything that was going on then and did nothing or, worse yet, participated actively in the election meddling. I have thought, as time went on, that people would eventually come to the same conclusion yet many are still giving them (the GOP) the benefit of the doubt. It is blatantly obvious to me and so many more like me that the GOP are active participants in the overthrow and dismantling of our government. Kompromat, bribery, extortion, and/or blackmail might explain why.

[spanone]

18. So is the sitting 'president'