Eight GOP lawmakers spend America’s Independence Day in Moscow.
Senators Richard Shelby, Steve Daines, John Hoeven, Ron Johnson, John Kennedy, Jerry Moran, John Thune, and Rep. Kay Granger tell U.S. media that their trip is to be tough on Russia in regards to election meddling.
In Moscow, though, the lawmakers stress that they’re only there to “strive for a better relationship” with our enemy and not “accuse Russia of this or that or so forth.”
Duma member Vyacheslav Nikonov said on Tuesday that he’s met with many American lawmakers before, but this week’s meeting “was one of the easiest ones in my life.”
If the Republicans who were in Moscow consider this a compliment, they’re badly missing the point.
MSNBC
Russian media even pokes fun at the senators for behaving like lapdogs to Russia after promising to represent U.S. interests back home.
Two years later, in 2020, Sen. Ron Johnson makes headlines when intelligence reveals an investigation he’s heading may actually be a cover for foreign efforts to influence the election and damage Joe Biden’s campaign.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded the all-Congress briefing Monday, citing “specific” intelligence that a foreign influence operation targeted lawmakers to “launder and amplify disinformation in order to influence congressional activity.” Though the letter did not mention the Johnson investigation, it included a classified addendum that the two sources say identified the probe as one of the sources of their concern…
The last time senators were briefed on election security and foreign influence operations, Democratic lawmakers confronted Johnson behind closed doors about his investigation, arguing that it threatens the integrity of the 2020 election and relies on Russian disinformation to tar a political opponent.
Politico
Sources
https://mavenroundtable.io/theintellectualist/news/in-2018-why-did-8-republican-u-s-senators-spend-july-4th-in-moscow-ZeNcDyijN0iJ2ZK7j_q5Mw
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/seven-gop-lawmakers-make-misguided-trip-russia-msna1119676
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a33419403/ron-johnson-senate-investigation-russian-influence-campaign/
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/20/democrats-fbi-briefing-foreign-interference-campaign-373134
Photo: Public Domain
