Stefanik silent too often

You would have expected Rep. Elise Stefanik to be among the first to condemn Trump’s shaming of U.S. Intelligence agencies in Helsinki. But once again, she chooses to remain silent as America’s protectors are equated with Russian spies.

Stefanik sits on the House Intelligence Committee and heads a subcommittee on Emerging Threats. The very agencies which Trump debases are the main source of those committees’ information. Does Elise share her President’s skepticism of their unanimous verdict that Russia hacked the 2016 election campaigns? What is her trust level regarding other intelligence informa- tion? She’s not telling us.

Silence seems a Stefanik specialty. A supposed friend of NATO, she fails to denounce Trump’s wreckingball tactics with our allies. Indeed, her lips are sealed about most of Trump’s erratic and shameful behavior.

Ultimately, loyalty to Trump is disloyalty to key parts of her constituency. Troops from Ft. Drum will be deployed based upon Presidential perceptions of global threats and that is usually shaped by intelligence agency input. Trusted information is their best preparation for deployment. Saddam’s supposed chemical weapon stockpiles showed everyone the bitter consequences of misinformation.

If Stefanik keeps refusing to sit down and level with District 21 constituents about vital security issues, then voters need to move her on to other employment in November.

Jim Reid

Cambridge