Those looking for evidence of Russia targeting U.S. elections, hoping to return Donald Trump to power, don’t have to look very hard. NBC News reported:
Russian disinformation peddlers are producing videos targeting the Harris-Walz campaign with false and disparaging claims, Microsoft said Tuesday. At least three Russian disinformation actors have been working to denigrate the Harris-Walz campaign, Microsoft said. One is a “marketing” firm that the Justice Department indicted this month, while Microsoft identified the other two only by pseudonyms.
If it seems like this is the latest installment in a series, it’s not your imagination. Microsoft’s findings about Russian disinformation peddlers trying to help the Trump campaign came five days after Matthew Olsen, the head of the Justice Department’s national security division, warned that foreign interference in the 2024 election posed a “clear and present danger” — and he singled out Russian efforts to help the Republican Party’s national ticket.
Six days earlier, a senior official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence conducted a briefing on Vladimir Putin’s government and the Kremlin’s covert efforts to put Trump back in the White House. The day before that, the Justice Department indicted a contributor to a Russian state-run TV channel, charging him with violating U.S. sanctions and money laundering. The defendant, Dmitri Simes, also worked as an advisor to Trump’s 2016 campaign.
That same week, the public learned that federal prosecutors also accused employees of the Russia-backed media network RT of funding and directing a scheme that sent millions of dollars to prominent right-wing commentators through Tenet Media, a leading platform for pro-Trump commentary. (The commentators have denied any wrongdoing and characterized themselves as “victims.”)
There’s no shortage of relevant angles to developments such as these, but on Capitol Hill, some Democrats are asking a good question: Does House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan care about any of this? One House Democrat in particular issued a press release along these lines last week.
[Monday, Sept. 9], Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett (D-VI), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, wrote to Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) demanding an investigation into the Department of Justice’s recent announcement that it has indicted Russian actors attempting to interfere in the United States Presidential elections.
In her written appeal, Plaskett told Jordan, “I understand that it may be difficult for you and Committee Republicans to resist looking the other way when it comes to Russian efforts to bolster Donald Trump’s candidacy. While this approach may be politically expedient for your party in the short-term, it will lead to severe consequences to the future of our democracy.
“We should all agree that any foreign interference, regardless of which political party benefits, is reprehensible and cannot be tolerated. I hope that you honor the solemn oath you took to defend the United States Constitution, from all enemies, foreign and domestic, and that you will join me showing Russia, Iran, China and all other world countries that we are united in our resolve that Americans, not foreign actors, will determine the next leader of our great country.”
As best as I can tell, the letter did not spur Jordan into action. On the contrary, the day after Plaskett made her case, Jordan sat down with media personality Benny Johnson — one of the commentators who allegedly benefited from the Russian payment scheme exposed by the Justice Department.
