Following a new report suggesting Russian hackers targeted Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign mere days before the election, several members of the maligned Electoral College want to know precisely what the U.S. intelligence community knows before casting their votes on December 19th. What’s more, the Clinton campaign itself has jumped on the band wagon — issuing an official Monday afternoon statement that, among other things, agreed with the signed electors’ open letter addressed to James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence.
In the letter first reported by The Daily Dot, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s daughter Christine Pelosi, eight of her fellow Democratic electors, and one Republican requested access to any and all intelligence briefings pertaining to the purported ties between President-elect Donald Trump and Russia:
The Electors require to know from the intelligence community whether there are ongoing investigations into ties between Donald Trump, his campaign or associates, and Russian government interference in the election, the scope of those investigations, how far those investigations may have reached, and who was involved in those investigations. We further require a briefing on all investigative findings, as these matters directly impact the core factors in our deliberations of whether Mr. Trump is fit to serve as President of the United States.
While the letter specifically addresses the possible ties between Trump (or his campaign) and Russia, its timing couldn’t be more impeccable. For aside from the most recent report about alleged election hacking by Russia, the news cycle over the weekend was dominated by a new CIA report’s determination that Russia’s involvement in the election is “quite clear.” Trump reacted negatively while some of his Republican allies freaked out. (But the president-elect’s rumored choice for James Clapper’s job, Carly Fiorina, implied doubt about Russia’s involvement in the election.)
Soon after the letter went viral, former Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta issued a statement lending their — and Hillary’s — name to its chief demand. “The bipartisan electors’ letter raises very grave issues involving our national security,” it read. “Electors have a solemn responsibility under the Constitution and we support their efforts to have their questions addressed.”
Podesta went on to highlight the Clinton campaign’s many past criticisms of the then-alleged ways in which Trump benefited from Russia’s involvement. Even so, he eventually left behind the statement’s told-you-so positions to conclude with a final note of urgency: “We now know that the CIA has determined Russia’s interference in our elections was for the purpose of electing Donald Trump. This should distress every American.”
(Via The Daily Dot and Politico)