Russia Is Not The Only Country That Tried To Influence A U.S. Election

A Xinhua file photo shows then Chinese President Jiang Zemin and his U.S. counterpart Bill Clinton shake hands in a joint press conference in Washington, the United States, on Oct. 29, 1997. (Xinhua)

Sharyl Atkinson: That time China interfered with U.S. elections…

Let me be clear: Do I think it’s possible Russia tried to influence the outcome of our elections? Absolutely. In fact, I consider it quite likely. Not because of the unsubstantiated conclusions made in the press, but because intelligence officials I trust tell me that Russia and other nations have attempted to influence our elections for decades, the same way we’ve often dabbled in influencing foreign elections.

However, the disproportionate media and political attention paid to Russia’s alleged efforts in 2016—and to the Russia threat generally—smacks of politics and propaganda. For example, top former Obama intel sources tell me they consider N. Korea, by far, the biggest foreign threat to the U.S. today. But N. Korea is barely mentioned in news reports. These intel officials put Iran and China next on the threat list—both, again, rarely discussed on the news, relative to Russia. The intel experts also mention ISIS and Islamist extremist terrorism as higher on the list than Russia.

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WNU Editor: If you live long enough you will see history repeat itself. I forgot about the role that Chinese money played in the 1996 U.S. Presidential election. More here .... 1996 United States campaign finance controversy (Wikipedia). And what did China get from Bill Clinton .... U.S. trade legislation that opened the door to make China the economic powerhouse that it is today .... Clinton Signs China Trade Bill into Law (ABC News).