Washington • Mitch McConnell is a Russian asset.
This doesn’t mean he’s a spy, but neither is it a flip accusation. Russia attacked our country in 2016. It is attacking us today. Its attacks will intensify in 2020. Yet each time we try to raise our defenses to repel the attack, McConnell, the Senate majority leader, blocks us from defending ourselves.
Let's call this what it is: unpatriotic. The Kentucky Republican is, arguably more than any other American, doing Russian President Vladimir Putin's bidding.
Robert Mueller sat before Congress this last week warning that the Russia threat "deserves the attention of every American." He said "the Russian government's efforts to interfere in our election is among the most serious" challenges to American democracy he has ever seen. "They are doing it as we sit here, and they expect to do it during the next campaign," he warned, adding that "much more needs to be done in order to protect against these intrusions, not just by the Russians but others as well."
Not three hours after Mueller finished testifying, Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, went to the Senate floor to request unanimous consent to pass legislation requiring presidential campaigns to report to the FBI any offers of assistance from agents of foreign governments.
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., was there to represent her leader's interests. "I object," she said.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., attempted to move a bill that would require campaigns to report to the FBI contributions by foreign nationals.
"I object," said Hyde-Smith.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., tried to force action on bipartisan legislation, written with Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and supported by Sens. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., protecting lawmakers from foreign cyberattacks. "The majority leader, our colleague from Kentucky, must stop blocking this common-sense legislation and allow this body to better defend itself against foreign hackers," he said.
"I object," repeated Hyde-Smith.
The next day, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the minority leader, asked for the Senate to pass the Securing America's Federal Elections Act, already passed by the House, that would direct $600 million in election assistance to states and require backup paper ballots.
McConnell himself responded this time, reading from a statement, his chin melting into his chest, his trademark thin smile on his lips. "It's just a highly partisan bill from the same folks who spent two years hyping up a conspiracy theory about President Trump and Russia," he said. "Therefore, I object." McConnell also objected to another attempt by Blumenthal to pass his bill.
Pleaded Schumer: "I would suggest to my friend the majority leader: If he doesn't like this bill, let's put another bill on the floor and debate it."
But McConnell has blocked all such attempts, including:
A bipartisan bill requiring Facebook, Google and other Internet companies to disclose purchasers of political ads, to identify foreign influence.
A bipartisan bill to ease cooperation between state election officials and federal intelligence agencies.
A bipartisan bill imposing sanctions on any entity that attacks a U.S. election.
A bipartisan bill with severe new sanctions on Russia for its cybercrimes.
McConnell has prevented them all from being considered — over and over again. This is the same McConnell who, in the summer of 2016, when briefed by the CIA along with other congressional leaders on Russia’s electoral attacks, questioned the validity of the intelligence and forced a watering down of a warning letter to state officials about the threat, omitting any mention of Russia.
No amount of alarms sounded by U.S. authorities — even Republicans, even Trump appointees — moves McConnell.
On Tuesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray — Trump's FBI director — told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the Russians "haven't been deterred enough" and are "absolutely intent on trying to interfere with our elections."
This year, National Intelligence Director Dan Coats — Trump's intelligence director — told the Senate Intelligence Committee that "foreign actors will view the 2020 U.S. elections as an opportunity to advance their interests. We expect them to refine their capabilities and add new tactics."
And on Thursday, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a bipartisan report finding that "Russian activities demand renewed attention to vulnerabilities in U.S. voting infrastructure."
The committee concluded that "urgent steps" are needed "to replace outdated and vulnerable voting systems." (The $380 million offered since 2016 is a pittance compared with the need.) "Despite the expense, cybersecurity needs to become a higher priority for election-related infrastructure," the report concluded.
But one man blocks it all — while offering no alternative of his own.
Presumably he thinks whatever influence Russia exerts over U.S. elections will benefit him (he's up for reelection in 2020) and his party.
"Shame on him," Schumer said on the Senate floor this last week.
But McConnell has no shame. He is aiding and abetting Putin's dismantling of Americans' self-governance. A leader who won't protect our country from attack is no patriot.
Dana Milbank | The Washington Post
Follow Dana Milbank on Twitter, @Milbank.
