Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was seemingly confused by questions about what the Director of National Intelligence has said about Russian hacking in the U.S. Which is not good.
Burr started off on solid ground when moderator Jonathan Karl, of ABC News, asked him if, despite Trump’s denials, Burr agreed with the national intelligence community’s official statement that Russia was behind the recent hacks of Democratic officials.
“I will stand by what statement [the director of national intelligence] has made,” Burr said.
But then he wandered off into confusing territory, talking about Iranian hacking. Karl tried to bring him back on point by quoting the top Democrat on Burr’s committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), who said earlier Thursday that Russia was trying to sway the presidential election for Trump.
Then Burr seemed to no longer understand the joint statement that the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, released, which said “the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from US political organizations.” It also said that the “thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the U.S. election process.” […]
“You don’t think the Russians are behind the DNC hacks?” Karl pressed.
“I’m not in a position that I could make a comment on it,” the Intelligence Committee chairman said.
He's not in a position? He's the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee! Is he trying to say that information that has been made public, has been in the news, is something he can't comment on? Because Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), ranking member on his committee, has been talking about it. Or is he just confused? Maybe he just didn't understand the question, even on the third reiteration. Or has he been as lazy in his Senate duties as he's been on the campaign trail, just not paying attention to the stuff happening that he's supposed to be overseeing?
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What he is certain about, though, is that he's sticking with Trump. It's all enough for the Raleigh News & Observer to give their endorsement to Democrat Deborah Ross. The editorial board says Burr moved from a "lackluster" Senate career to a "troubling" one, when he "shielded the secretive agencies and withheld from public view the results of the intelligence committee’s investigation into the CIA’s torture of detainees," and "continues to support Donald Trump for president, despite a letter from 50 prominent Republican foreign policy and national security experts who warned that, if elected, Trump would endanger national security as 'the most reckless president in American history.'"
It's not just about Burr, though. The News & Observer is endorsing Ross as "a challenger who knows that respect for individual liberties is what makes the nation strong."