Rep. Jim ClyburnJames (Jim) Enos ClyburnDemocratic rivals sharpen attacks as Bloomberg rises Rep. Cunningham blasts Sanders: ‘South Carolinians don’t want socialism’ House Majority Whip: DNC shouldn’t change rules for Bloomberg MORE (S.C.), the No. 3 Democrat in the House, expressed alarm at recent reports that Russia is trying to meddle in the 2020 election.
Clyburn, the House majority whip, told Greta Van Susteren in an interview poised to air on Sunday that he’s had concerns about interference from Moscow since before the 2016 election when U.S. intelligence agencies, the Senate Intelligence Committee and information reported by former special counsel Robert MuellerRobert (Bob) Swan MuellerCNN’s Toobin warns McCabe is in ‘perilous condition’ with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill’s 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE found that the country unleashed a complex disinformation social media campaign and attempted to hack U.S. election databases.
“I have been very concerned about that and I have been for a long, long time. I have been saying for several years now, even before 2016. I always believed that the Russians have been at this for a long time,” he said.
Clyburn underscored South Carolina’s 2010 Senate race in which Democrat Alvin Michael Greene bested the party’s chosen candidate in a primary and was ultimately trounced in the general election.
“Something went wrong in this primary. People dismissed it,” he said. “I say again, there is something going wrong not just in these presidentials but there’s some things happening in these primaries all over the country.”
The remarks come after intelligence reports emerged that Russia is attempting to take efforts to boost the campaigns of President TrumpDonald John TrumpWhere do we go from here? Conservation can show the way Gov. Ron DeSantis more popular in Florida than Trump Sotomayor accuses Supreme Court of bias in favor of Trump administration MORE and Sen. Bernie Sanders
Bernie SandersRussian interference reports rock Capitol Hill The Democratic nominee won’t be democratically chosen Fox’s Ingraham mocks DNC over Nevada voting malfunctions: ‘Are we a Third World country?’ MORE (I-Vt.). Sanders confirmed Friday he had been briefed on Moscow’s plans a month ago.
“We have the most productive, the most admired democracy in the world and it is getting under a lot of countries’ skins and they are doing whatever they can to disrupt to sow discord to do whatever they can to make it look as if democracy cannot work,” said Clyburn. “And for me as a descendant of slaves to sit here and say this democracy is worth preserving,” he continued.
Sanders has hammered Russian President Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinHillicon Valley: Facebook, Twitter split on Bloomberg video | Sanders briefed on Russian efforts to help campaign | Barr to meet with Republicans ahead of surveillance fight Bloomberg campaign hits Sanders over reports of Russian interference Sanders says he was briefed on Russian effort to help campaign MORE since the news emerged, saying he is no friend of Moscow’s strongman.
“I don’t care, frankly, who Putin wants to be president,” Sanders said in a statement Friday. “My message to Putin is clear: stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do.”
Trump has dismissed claims Russia is working to boost his re-election effort, calling the news a Democratic-led “misinformation campaign.”
“Another misinformation campaign is being launched by Democrats in Congress saying that Russia prefers me to any of the Do Nothing Democrat candidates who still have been unable to, after two weeks, count their votes in Iowa,” Trump said, referring to delayed results from the Iowa caucuses.
