Short on Evidence, the Consensus Is Still Russia Is to Blame While a number of security experts have for months repeatedly noted a paucity of evidence behind claims by the Clinton campaign, and more recently the Obama Administration, that Russia is behind hacking of Democratic Party systems, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s point out of that fact isn’t sitting well with a lot of Republicans.
Hillary Clinton has repeatedly insisted that “everyone knows” Russia did it, and a lot of Republicans are saying the same thing, and expressing annoyance at Trump for expressing doubt about the narrative of Vladimir Putin hacking the Democrats to get him elected.
They aren’t offering any new evidence, of course, and indeed no such evidence is being offered by the Clinton campaign nor by the Department of Homeland Security, just repeated appeals to the general consensus which, having been formed long before the hacks were even investigated in earnest, must never be questioned.
It’s largely a political issue, with Clinton heavily centering the debate on the idea of picking a fight with Russia if she’s elected. A good chunk of the Republican leadership has been enamored with the new Cold War, and doesn’t want to see facts, or the lack thereof, getting in the way of continued escalation of rhetoric.