Governance

"Donald Trump is already enabling Russia with his lack of action. He doesn't even affirm the assessment by our intelligence agencies that Russia disrupted our elections; in statements, he still caveats the possibility that Russia did it with asides that it could have been others. He appears not to have challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin in any meaningful way when they met at the G20. States and localities have not been given any advice about how to protect their election systems going forward."

"Clapper ended his statement with a reminder to the American public and the Senators of what this investigation is really about: Russia did, without doubt and with little consequence, deploy resources and tactics to disrupt America's presidential election — to undermine Hillary Clinton, and to help Trump's campaign. Stated without drama or emotion, it was nonetheless sobering."

On Monday, the House Intelligence Committee will hold its first, much-anticipated public hearing on Russia's involvement in the 2016 election. The hearing is significant because it will determine whether all the noise regarding Russia, Trump and the relationship between the two is grounds for further investigation.