Russia isn’t done trying to mess with U.S. elections, but—go figure—the Trump administration doesn’t seem too worried about it. The State Department is supposed to be spending $120 million to keep Russia out of future elections, but it hasn’t spent any of the money.
As a result, not one of the 23 analysts working in the department’s Global Engagement Center — which has been tasked with countering Moscow’s disinformation campaign — speaks Russian, and a department hiring freeze has hindered efforts to recruit the computer experts needed to track the Russian efforts.
In fact, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson seems to be taking the view that there’s no point even trying to keep Russia out of our elections:
“If it’s their intention to interfere, they’re going to find ways to do that,” Mr. Tillerson said in an interview last month with Fox News. “And we can take steps we can take, but this is something that once they decide they are going to do it, it’s very difficult to pre-empt it.”
Oh, it’s difficult, so just let them do it, no point in trying to PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY.
It’s almost like the Trump administration doesn’t even want to safeguard U.S. elections from Russian meddling. Gee, wonder why that could be.