Graham: Republicans happy about Russian meddling are political hacks

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday ripped Republicans who are “gleeful” about Russia’s meddling in the U.S. election, saying anyone who isn’t condemning the meddling is “a political hack.”
“Most Republicans are condemning what Russia did. And to those who are gleeful about it — you’re a political hack. You’re not a Republican. You’re not a patriot,” Graham said during an appearance on NBC News’s “Meet the Press with Chuck Todd.”
On Friday, the Intelligence Community released a declassified report that concluded Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign before the election in an effort to help President-elect Trump win.
{mosads}“We should all — Republicans, Democrats — condemn Russia for what they did. To my Republican friends who are gleeful, you’re making a huge mistake,” Graham said.
Graham added that he hopes Trump, who signaled in his campaign that he would work for a better relationship with the Kremlin, takes advantage of the chance to “make Russia pay a price” for trying to meddle in the election.
Trump has criticized the Intelligence Community for its various assessments over Russia’s cyber activities. Trump said early Saturday in a tweet following the report that “hacking” did not affect the election outcome.
“Intelligence stated very strongly there was absolutely no evidence that hacking affected the election results. Voting machines not touched!” he wrote on Twitter.
Graham also said he was “perplexed” by Trump’s rhetoric on Russia.
“I don’t know what drives him on Russia, but I do know this. That if our policies don’t change vis a vis Russia, the worst is yet to come. And the Congress is going to have a different view on Russia than the president-elect does,” he said.
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