Glynn Wilson –

We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Russia interfered in an American election in 2016, and that they and other hostile powers are already preparing to do it again in 2020.

In fact there is no scintilla of doubt, and if given the chance, an honest grand jury would rule it is beyond a reasonable doubt.

“It’s real. Russian interference in our election happened — and it went far beyond Twitter bots and fake Facebook profiles,” U.S. Senator Doug Jones said in an email blast Monday to supporters for his reelection campaign in 202O.

It’s what he talked about the most this past week in a media conference call with reporters, the day after Special Counsel Robert Mueller testified before Congress about his report, in some testimony confirming that he did not exonerate Donald Trump for obstruction of justice but making the point clear about Russian interference.

Then according to a bipartisan report released this week by the Senate Intelligence Committee, there was extensive activity by the Russian government to access data and election infrastructure at every level of government in 2016. All 50 states were somehow impacted, with states like Illinois facing the greatest consequences. Up to 200,000 voter records in Illinois were accessed, including sensitive personal information. In another state, hackers tried to manipulate the unofficial vote totals.

“This was a long-term, coordinated attack, and it could happen again,” Senator Jones, the Democrat from Alabama, said. “Now that vulnerabilities in our election process have been exposed, we have to anticipate further attacks, from Russia, China or another adversary. The Senate report is setting off alarm bells on both sides of the aisle. It’s time to act.”

The problem is people are going to their own partisan corners and the president and the Republican leadership in the Senate block any attempt to bring legislation to the floor to do something about it.

“What’s not serious here is the level of leadership we have in the Senate,” Senator Jones said. “Instead of working to protect American democracy and ensure a free and fair election, the Senate Majority Leader is refusing to even allow discussion about election security. To Mitch McConnell, it’s ‘not serious.’ He uses those two words to dismiss the problem, to dismiss the solutions my colleagues and I have created, and to dismiss the very real threats facing our elections.”

The seriousness of the problem also gets lost when “the president calls it a hoax,” Senator Jones said in response to my probing questions about what might happen in the next election. “It’s not a hoax. It is really serious, folks.”

The one thing people in Alabama and across the country, regardless of party affiliation, should take into account is this.

“I think we all ought to take away from this is the seriousness and the ongoing nature of the Russian election interference and the need to bring election security legislation to a vote in the Senate as soon as possible,” Senator Jones said. “It is a shame that a hostile foreign nation is interfering in our elections.”

He pointed out that Mr. Mueller has said, consistent with what we are hearing in public testimony from other intelligence officers, that this is not just about Russia anymore.

“Other adversaries, whether it’s China, Iran and others are also looking at copying the Russian playbook,” he said. “They have seen what they can do to affect the policies of the United States government through the elections.”

At the end of the day, he said: “We are all Americans. We’re in this together. I think it is our patriotic duty to put our differences aside and do everything we can to preserve our democracy and the democratic processes we rely on.”

While the Mueller report concluded that Russia’s interference was designed to help Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election — but did nothing to document how it changed the outcome of the election, never even asked the question — it is presumed that the Russian government and the Russian mob might try to help Trump again.

But to Jones, that’s not the point and should not be the focus.

“It doesn’t matter who they are doing it for,” he said. “The most important thing is that they are doing it. This should not be a partisan issue. Free and fair elections without interference one way or another.”