After Mitch McConnell attempted to whitewash the Mueller report on the Senate floor this morning, former FBI counterterrorism expert and CNN commentator Asha Rangappa was aghast, most specifically because McConnell, in all his cynical glory, blamed President Obama.
“I think many of us now see that President Obama’s approach to Russia could have used some more of the 1980’s, more Ronald Reagan and less Jimmy Carter,” McConnell sneered, intimating that the only problem really was that President Obama was too passive, ignoring McConnell's refusal to agree to a joint and bipartisan public statement notifying the public that Russia was indeed interfering.
Rather than put the country's best interests at heart, McConnell chose to carve out a political advantage by forcing President Obama to make a choice to go public without him, risking accusations that he was simply trying to help Hillary Clinton, or remain silent.
In hindsight, Obama probably should have done so. But then, he shouldn't have had to make the choice.
Asha Rangappa was horrified at McConnell's lie.
“This is like gaslighting central,” Rangappa said. “It is very rich for Senator McConnell to be even speaking about countering Russian aggression."
"This was somebody who refused to present a united front when the FBI informed him before the election that Russia was interfering in the election," she continued. "And even threatened to politicize it if they made it public.”
"Making it public would have helped neutralize Russia’s actions and therefore by keeping it silent, it effectively enabled them to a large degree,” Rangappa continued. “So, I don’t even know what to say to that.”
Perhaps it would help to put Mitch McConnell's interests in focus here. It was reported at the end of April that Oleg Deripaska is dropping $200 million into Kentucky to spin up an aluminum plant on the site of an old strip mine.
Yes, that is one and the same Oleg Deripaska whom Bill Barr described as a “bottom-feeding scum-sucker.” The same Oleg Deripaska who pops up all over the Mueller report as a very, very bad dude, on whom Congress has imposed sanctions before McConnell undid them just in time for Deripaska to bestow millions upon his home state.
Oh, I'm sure there's nothing to see there at all. Nothing whatsoever. But here's the thing. This isn't over. Not by a long shot, gaslighting or otherwise.
We're just getting started. See, for example, Elizabeth Warren's response.
