You’ll regret this, and you may regret this a lot sooner than you think. – Moscow Mitch (Reptile -KY)
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough went on an extended rant against “Moscow Mitch” McConnell for repeatedly blocking measures that would protect American democracy from Russian attacks.
The Senate majority leader blocked two election security bills twice this week, despite warnings from U.S. officials and former special counsel Robert Mueller that the Kremlin was actively engaged in efforts to interfere with the 2020 election — and McConnell prevented the Obama administration from warning Americans about Russian meddling in 2016.
“Robert Mueller testified that not only did Russia try to interfere with our 2016 election and not only did Donald Trump’s — all of his intelligence community and Kirstjen Nielsen, when she was at Homeland Security, said Russia undermined American democracy in 2016,” Scarborough said. “We remember back then the warnings came, but ‘Moscow Mitch,’ that being Mitch McConnell, of Moscow, Kentucky, actually blocked that and said he threatened the people that were going to try to get that information out to warn Americans.”
Despite all those clear warnings, the “Morning Joe” host said, McConnell agrees with President Donald Trump that Russian election interference is just a “hoax.”
“‘Moscow Mitch’ says it’s a hoax,” Scarborough said. “You have his own Intelligence Committee in the Senate led by Republican Richard Burr saying that Russia tried to infiltrate all 50 states back in 2016 and are going to try it again. ‘Moscow Mitch’ calls it a hoax. You have the Republican Trump appointed FBI director saying that the Russians infiltrated America’s democracy and are going to try again.”
“You have the head, the director of national intelligence saying that the Russians tried to infiltrate our election system, tried to subvert American democracy,” Scarborough continued, “they’re going to try it again. ‘Moscow Mitch’ said it’s a hoax. You have Trump’s appointed director of the CIA saying that the Russians are trying to undermine American democracy, that the Russians tried in ’16, will try again. ‘Moscow Mitch’ calls it a hoax.”
“You have military intel people, the military intel community, knowing because they were fighting the Russians in 2015-2016 and are still fighting them every day to stop them from continuing to infiltrate American democracy,” Scarborough said. ‘Moscow Mitch’ says it’s a hoax.”
Scarborough suggested the fix was in.
“I understand that there’s an oligarch that I have read is going to be setting up a big aluminum plant in ‘Moscow Mitch’s’ home state,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s it, but how can ‘Moscow Mitch’ so willingly turn a blind eye not only this year to what his Republican chairman of the Intel Committee is saying, to what Robert Mueller is saying what the FBI director is saying what the DNI is saying, to what the CIA is saying, to what the United States military intel community is saying.”
“How can ‘Moscow Mitch’ keep denying that Vladimir Putin continues to try to subvert American democracy?” Scarborough added.
MEANWHILE ON THE REPUBLICAN CHANNEL
Fox News host Shepard Smith on Monday criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for blocking election security bills because they were sponsored by Democrats.
“Mitch McConnell is on the floor of the Senate defending himself,” Smith explained during his Monday broadcast, “against what he just called modern-day McCarthyism after some pundits described him as un-American and a Russian asset. Some have been calling him Moscow Mitch.”
“Last week, Robert Mueller testified — and just as his report said — the Russians interfered in an attempt to get Donald Trump elected president, everyone is aware of it,” Smith continued. “Right now he believes it’s one of the greatest threats to our democracy.”
The Fox News host said that McConnell had blocked two stand-alone election security bills that were brought up a day after Mueller testified.
“Two stand-alone bills were brought up to protect against Russian interference in the 2020 election and Mitch McConnell blocked them,” Smith stated. “The day after he said it’s underway, he stopped a bill that’s goal was to protect the United States from the Russian invasion into our election.
After cutting off a clip of McConnell defending himself, Smith warned that Russian cyber influence is “happening again.”
“They attacked our election,” the host remarked. “There’s not been one stand-alone bill in [McConnell’s] chamber, the chamber which he leads to try to stop it. There have not been congressional hearings to bring the nation together around the common cause. And that is the Russians are attacking us and we must make it stop.”
“Democracy is at stake,” Smith concluded.
