Politics

Bush: ‘Pretty Clear Evidence’ Russians Meddled In 2016

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
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Former President George W. Bush told an audience in the United Arab Emirates Thursday that “there’s pretty clear evidence that the Russians meddled” in the 2016 presidential election, according to the Associated Press.

“Whether they affected the outcome is another question,” Bush told a Milken Institute conference in Abu Dhabi.

Bush said, “It’s problematic that a foreign nation is involved in our election system. Our democracy is only as good as people trust the results.”

The U.S. intelligence community confirmed that Russia interfered in the election, though it’s up for debate whether the meddling helped Trump win the election. Special counsel Robert Mueller has not yet announced whether he has evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Bush suggested that Putin is trying to restore the Soviet empire.

“He’s got a chip on his shoulder,” Bush said of Putin. “The reason he does is because of the demise of the Soviet Union troubles him. Therefore, much of his moves (are) to regain Soviet hegemony.”

The former president believes Putin’s aggressive stance, where he “is pushing, constantly pushing, probing weaknesses,” makes NATO as relevant to world security as it ever has been.

“That’s why NATO is very important.”

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