Columns

It is much too early for Trump and his supporters to be gloating about the Mueller Report's conclusions as spun by Attorney General’s William Barr’s summary. What is needed is the full Mueller Report with all the underlying support. Then we can all objectively decide. Regardless, Trump is unfit for office. 

The Mueller investigation did indict 26 Russian nationals and three Russian companies. These indictments provide additional support for the Intelligence Community Assessment report on Russia's consistent goals "to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency.” This was done through cyberattacks and Russia’s state-run propaganda. For example, attacks were made into voter databases and software systems in at least thirty-nine states. In Illinois, investigators found evidence that cyber hackers tried to delete or alter voter data. The hackers accessed software designed to be used by poll workers on Election Day, and in at least one state accessed a campaign finance database. 

Now we have been alerted to the vulnerabilities of our election systems, including the relative ease of voting machine hacking, threats to voter registration systems and voter privacy, and foreign disinformation campaigns aimed at confusing voters and inciting conflict. We have very limited time to address election security vulnerabilities before the 2020 presidential election.