UPDATED: Denis McDonough: McConnell 'watered down' Russia warning in 2016

[DonViejo]

Last edited Sun Mar 4, 2018, 02:38 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: NBC News



by KAILANI KOENIG

WASHINGTON — Former White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough on Sunday said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell “watered down” a warning about Russia’s attempts to interfere in the 2016 election and defended the Obama administration’s response to foreign meddling in the campaign.

The language in a September 2016 letter from congressional leaders to state election officials was drastically softened at McConnell's urging, McDonough said in an exclusive interview Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press."

The warning, written to the National Association of State Election Directors, was signed by the four congressional leaders — McConnell, then-Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi — and it told states to “take full advantage of the robust public and private sector resources available to them to ensure that their network infrastructure is secure from attack.”

“The president asked the four leaders in a bipartisan meeting in the Oval Office to join him in asking the states to work with us on this question,” McDonough said. “It took over three weeks to get that statement worked out. It was dramatically watered down." Asked if it was watered down at the insistence of McConnell and only McConnell, McDonough responded, “yes.”

The New York Times reported last year that McConnell had questioned the intelligence on election interference and agreed to a softer version of the letter that spoke of “malefactors” to be aware of but did not specifically mention Russia.



Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/denis-mcdonough-mcconnell-watered-down-russia-warning-2016-n853016

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Original OP:

Ex-Obama chief of staff: Obama's Russia response was 'watered down'

BY LUIS SANCHEZ - 03/04/18 10:53 AM EST

Link to tweet

A former White House chief of staff to former President Obama on Sunday admitted that the Obama administration’s response to Russian interference in the 2016 elections was "watered down."

Denis McDonough told “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd that a few months before the 2016 election, the president asked the four party leaders to join the White House in drafting a statement to respond to Russia.

It was "dramatically watered down" on the insistence of now-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), McDonough said.

Former Vice President Joe Biden has in the past also blamed McConnell for weakening the bipartisan response Obama sought.

more
http://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/376641-ex-obama-chief-of-staff-obamas-russia-response-was-watered-down

[PaulX2]

1. Is Mitch Under Investigation?

I wonder.

[riversedge]

25. nah. turtles are off limits

[Eyeball_Kid]

26. Conspiracy to launder money from Russia, perhaps.

McConnell's PAC got millions from a Russian oligarch. Ryan got a ton of cash, and so did other GOP candidates. Ryan is recorded twice talking to Kislyak about receiving Russian money for laundering. He was all in. If you wonder why the GOP leadership is so complicit about Trumpy and his dealings with Russia, it's because they all knew about the money and took a load of it themselves. Now they're shitting cantalopes waiting for Mueller to indict them.

[catbyte]

2. Goddamned traitors. McConnell, Ryan, Nunes, every last one of them.

[olegramps]

20. The Republican Party adopted fascist principles forth years ago. This is the result.

Daily their control of the hate radio drives the wedge deeper splitting the nation into two camps. They are determined to destroy the nation whose motto is E pluribus unum (From many one).

[BeyondGeography]

3. Lets face it

Between Merrick Garland and Russian electoral meddling, Mitch kicked Obama’s ass in 2016.

[cilla4progress]

4. By cheating

their MO.

[BeyondGeography]

6. We will always have the moral high ground

Yippee.

[ChiTownDenny]

5. Unfortunately,

YUP!

[meow2u3]

22. Not exactly

McTurtle hit Obama below the belt--after he paid off the refs to look the other way!

[sharedvalues]

7. HORRIBLE headline from The Hill - Hill is a conserv-leaning pub

The Hill leans conservative, and they use a few extreme op-eds from far leftists to achieve sacred media "balance".

They still employ John Solomon. :vomit:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

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p.s. The Hill should have used this headline:

Ex-Obama chief of staff: McConnell watered down Obama's Russia response

instead of

Ex-Obama chief of staff: Obama's Russia response was 'watered down'

p.s. Hi DonViejo, this is not directed at you -- thanks for your regular news posts

[dalton99a]

8. Agreed.

[Fred Sanders]

9. No mention of FACT Republicans insisted on a watered down version...terrible "reporting".

[Bradical79]

21. Good catch

[hedda_foil]

24. That information might be useful if Solomon wrote this piece but he did not.

I don't know why you're spending so much time slamming The Hill. It's not a national publication. It's very narrow target audience are the denizens of Capitol Hill (hence it's name) and it's barely read outside of DC lobbying firms and congressional offices Mostly they are given away free in the office waiting rooms of R's and D's alike for lobbyists and the very occasional constituent who wanders in. It's not a particularly conservative publication, just a mealy mouth one. You seem to be complaining that it doesn't have a more liberal slant, not that it has a particularly conservative one.

Outside of Capitol Hill, barely a soul knows it even exists aside from 24/7 political junkies like some of us.

[jalan48]

10. Not to mention McConnell was stealing Obama's SCOTUS pick all the while.

[sharedvalues]

12. Not just Obama's- OUR Scotus pick. I feel personally robbed. As should we all. n/m

[jalan48]

14. Yes, outrageous that he was able to get away with both of these things just to please his owners.

[sharedvalues]

11. More detail: it was McConnell, and ONLY McConnell, who did this.

Link to tweet

[Nasruddin]

15. Excuses

It's easy to be right in hindsight, but this sure sounds like excuses.

One more failure chalked up to deference to Republicans and lack of willingness to play the game the way it has to be played. McConnell isn't and wasn't in charge of US foreign policy - Mr Obama was.

[FreepFryer]

13. Shittily misleading article title. Better: "McConnell watered down US response to Russia hax"

[Turn CO Blue]

16. Yes! Passive voice causes confusion in writing, especially in the headline. n/t

[KentuckyWoman]

17. Tobacco and horses

Follow the money

[Pepsidog]

19. Obama himself has said this repeatedly

Obama has said that republicans would not agree on a stiff condemnation of Russia. Because Trump was yelling the election would be rigged and because of the certainty that Hillary would win, Obama decided not to fan the flames and did what he could do withiut the CDS baby party yelling rigged election.

[pansypoo53219]

27. fux gnewz/pravda has pimped putin since obama.

talk about colluding.