McConnell defends his stance on elections
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday defended his decision to block an election security bill and lashed out at critics who suggested he was helping Russia, accusing them of engaging in “modern day McCarthyism” to “smear” his record.
“The outrage industrial complex doesn’t let a little thing like reality get in their way,” said Mr. McConnell, RKy., in a nearly 30- minute speech on the Senate floor. “They saw the perfect opportunity to distort and tell lies and fuel the flames of partisan hatred, and so they did.”
Mr. McConnell was responding primarily to an opinion column by The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank, published Friday under the headline “Mitch McConnell is a Russian asset.” Mr. Milbank described how Republicans, including Mr. McConnell, had blocked bills designed to counter cyber attacks, by Russians or other foreign agents, against U. S. elections.
Mr. McConnell used what is usually a speech on the upcoming Senate workweek to denounce the column and some liberal commentators on MSNBC, accusing
Senate Democrats of helping fan the liberal flames.
Last week, former special counsel Robert Mueller testified to Congress on Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether President Donald Trump tried to obstruct the inquiry. Casting Russian sabotage as a serious threat to the United States, Mr. Mueller warned that interference efforts were happening “as we sit” in the hearing rooms.
Hours after Mr. Mueller’s testimony, Democrats tried to get the Senate to vote on bipartisan election security legislation. Republicans objected. The next day, Democrats tried to get a vote on a bill that would have authorized hundreds of millions of dollars to update voting equipment. Mr. McConnell objected.
In his speech, Mr. McConnell said the Trump administration has taken steps to combat foreign interference, outlining the contents of a recent closed- door, classified briefing by Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and other national security officials.
The House- passed bill would authorize more than $ 600 million to spend on updating voting equipment to comply with new standards between now and 2020, including requirements that voting machines produce a paper record, stay disconnected from the Internet and be produced in the United States.