But is all that really the main news story here? I think not. And it reminds me of the situation that emerged in the 2006 Alexander Litvinenko death case.
There wasn't much remarkable about a generally-unknown nobody like Litvinenko dying, even of an unorthodox poison. Yet his death became one of the biggest news stories of its time.
When a journalist is sent out to cover news, one of the first things he or she is supposed to ask is "what's the story here?" In other words what is newsworthy. It surely was not the death of some obscure character like Litvinenko.
In concluding my presentation I posed the question, "what's the story here? My answer: the "story" is the story. More remarkable than Litvinenko's death is the matter of why it became such a big worldwide news item. It had no factual basis.
Similarly, in the Russian hacking scandal I think the same thing applies. The "story" is the story. But no one is covering it.
It's no secret that major countries covertly engage in information gathering about the inside workings of other countries. One scandal had Israel going after American secrets. Then there were American hacks of foreign leaders' telephone conversations. Just to mention a few.
And as far as one country trying to influence the politics of another? Check out what the US has been doing around the world for years.
We've promoted the forcible removal of heads of state, propped up militant opposition actors, and even staged an invasion to take territory away from Serbia. So even if the allegations of Russia's intent to influence a US election were proved to be true, it would pale in comparison.
However, there is a greater point here. I believe that we've been seeing an organized attempt to delegitimize Trump's election. The Clinton camp seems to be angling for a legal coup in the vote of the Electoral College on December 19. That's what the hacking scandal betrays on close examination.
Previously I warned of this and how Putin is playing into the hands of the Clintonites with the positive comments he's made about Trump. I wrote an article titled "Someone Should Tell Putin to Shut Up about Trump Lest He Prompt an Upset When the Electoral College Votes." It drew a lot of negative reaction in some quarters, even ad hominem attacks.
But this scheme to negate Trump's election is the real story here. That's what the Kremlin should be pushing in a credible way.
Putin's mere denial of allegations of hacking complicity is a waste of time. He should just be silent himself.
A credible and substantiatable case can be made of an ongoing attempt to unseat Trump.
It may be highly unlikely the attempt will succeed. Nonetheless the clue that it's being attempted should be the big news here.
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