Should U.S. conduct an inquiry into allegations of Russian hacking?

“Of course hacks should be probed,” Dec. 14 editorial.

I strongly support your call for Congress to investigate alleged Russian hacks of U.S. computer systems. But it’s not enough.

We as a country need to look into allegations the Russian Federation, starting at the top, directed activities to influence the outcome of the U.S. elections in November. It’s reported that the FBI and CIA agree that Russia intervened in the election in part to help one candidate win the presidency.

There should be an impartial inquiry into this issue that will present its conclusions to the public, as called for in the recently introduced Protecting Our Democracy Act (H.R. 6447). It would create a bipartisan and independent commission to interview witnesses, obtain documents, receive public testimony and, where necessary, issue subpoenas.

President Obama said he would welcome such a process to provide Americans assurance not only that our elections are fair and free, but that we have learned lessons on how propaganda generated from overseas can affect our politics, and have formed strategies to prevent it in the future.

We need to defend the legitimacy of U.S. elections at the local, state and national levels. This is not a partisan issue. The international credibility of our country as an example and leader in promoting democracy is at stake.

Denver The writer represents Colorado’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

BBB C’mon, Denver Post. Will this slanting of the news never end? Any hacking that may have occurred did not cost Hillary Clinton the election. Clinton did that to herself.

Even if e-mail accounts were hacked by the Russians or whoever, there is no allegation that the information revealed was untrue or manipulated. If the Democrats had had nothing to hide, the hacks would have had nothing to reveal.

But by pulling back the curtain and giving details about her Wall Street speeches, and the Clinton Foundation, and even Clinton getting debate questions in advance, people were allowed to see the truth. Since when is that a bad thing?

BBB The Denver Post’s editorial calling for a full accounting of facts regarding possible Russian interference in national elections should include investigation and disclosure of FBI director James Comey’s activities and how they intertwined with those of the Russians to influence the outcome.

Was there a conspiracy? Just because Comey has nurtured a squeaky-clean image doesn’t mean he’s not guilty of interference, or perhaps malfeasance. Since he announced that Hillary Clinton’s e-mail investigation was re-opened, why didn’t he also announce the investigation into Russian hacking? Had he done that, the negative impact on both campaigns — Clinton’s and Donald Trump’s — would have been more equal, and perhaps we wouldn’t have the travesty we have now.

Numerous circumstances made a mockery of our democratic system. We need to know how and why. The editorial says, correctly, “Too much is at stake to simply drop this one in the round file.” Send letters of 150 words or fewer to openforum@denverpost.com or 101 W. Colfax Ave., Suite 800, Denver, CO, 80202. Please include full name, city and phone number. Contact us at 303-954-1331.