Could the presidential election ‘have been decided by espionage activities of a hostile foreign government?’

Tales of espionage, hackings and the Russian government impacting an American election might sound like the plot of a political thriller, but according to The Atlantic’s senior editor David Frum, this fan fiction could have been a reality during the 2016 presidential election.

“The thing that worries me the very most is that we have just had an election campaign which may have been decided by espionage activities of a hostile foreign government, the Russian state,” Frum told Dan Rather Tuesday. “WikiLeaks — everyone who is conversant with intelligence matters understands that WikiLeaks is an arm of Russian intelligence.”

Frum added, “Julian Assange personally may not be, but he’s now isolated in that embassy, the Ecuadorian embassy in London, he’s cut off from his WikiLeaks operation. The WikiLeaks operation depends heavily on Russian assistance and the emails that they published from not only Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee, but from John Podesta, those seem to be hacked by Russian espionage activities. It’s astonishing that the Russians would dare do such a thing and it’s even more astonishing that it seems to have succeeded. So, that’s my number one fundamental concern.”

The other concern to Frum is President-elect Trump’s unwillingness to completely sever ties to his business. In fact, Trump tweeted a criticism directed at the media for suggesting his global business dealings were “a big deal.”

Frum thinks the media’s critique is warranted.

“The president-elect, not even having taken the oath of office yet, seems to be — within 72 hours — repeatedly using his position for personal financial gain and intermingling his family’s business affairs with the foreign policy of the United States.”

Dan Rather’s America airs Tuesday at 10 am ET on Radio Andy (Ch. 102)

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

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