Horowitz: Trump Can’t Wish Russian Election Hacking Away

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Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Rob Horowitz, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

When confronted with realities that are either inconvenient or unpleasant, President-elect Donald Trump continues to wish them away, creating an alternative universe that has little or nothing to do with reality. The latest example is Trump continuing to dismiss the findings of 19 intelligence agencies that the Russian government was behind the hacking of the DNC and key Clinton campaign aides' emails during the campaign. 

Speaking this weekend to Chris Wallace for FOX News Sunday, Trump, referring to the charges of Russian hacking by our top intelligence officials, said, "I think it’s ridiculous, I think it’s just another excuse. I don’t believe it.”  And as is becoming standard transition practice, he sent out his spokesman Jason Miller and incoming Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to put their own diminishing credibility on the line by echoing Trump’s refusal to acknowledge the plain facts. 

Even worse, when the Washington Post reported that the CIA now had high confidence that the motivation for Russian hacking was to help Trump win the election, his transition office put out a statement attacking the CIA, despite the fact that in a few short weeks the Businessman and Former Reality Star will be in ultimate charge of the Agency that is central to our fight against terrorism.

Fortunately, in this case, whether or not the Presidential-elect continues his unpersuasive and self-serving denial of reality,  the national interest is going to be served by an investigative report ordered by President Obama to be completed before he leaves office and by bi-partisan investigations in the US Senate.

Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee was joined by ranking member Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Committee member Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in calling for the formation of a Select Committee to get to the bottom of the Russian hacking. In a joint statement, this bi-partisan group of US Senators said, “Recent reports of Russian interference in our election should alarm every American. Democrats and Republicans must work together, and across the jurisdictional lines of the Congress, to examine these recent incidents thoroughly and devise comprehensive solutions to deter and defend against further cyber attacks.”

While not embracing the specific idea of a Select Committee, yesterday, Majority Leader McConnell (R_KY), backed bi-partisan investigations, saying the Senate Intelligence Committee along with the Armed Services Committee would look into the matter.

In urging Donald Trump to accept the conclusions of the intelligence agencies, Senator McCain said, ‘You can’t make this issue partisan, it’s too important A fundamental of democracy is a free and fair election.”

These investigations are not designed to determine whether the Russian hacking was a major factor in Trump’s victory; their purpose is as stated to make sure we understand the entire scope and motivation of the Russian hacking and to develop effective counter-measures to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Donald Trump will be the legitimately elected President no matter what these investigations uncover. It is time for him to start acting like one.

Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island

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