Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison has yet to say what role he believes Russia played in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee officials, even as he ramps up his bid to become the next DNC chair.
Ellison has offered no public statement on Russia’s reported role in the hacks. His office did not respond to a detailed list of questions submitted by TheDC regarding his position on what (if any) role he believes Russia played in the hacks and — if so — what actions the U.S. should take in response.
His silence underscores a growing divide between the Democratic Party’s progressive wing and its establishment figureheads, especially on the subject of WikiLeaks, which published thousands of DNC emails showing party officials colluding to stack the primary against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Bernie Sanders looks on as Keith Ellison speaks during a rally on jobs on December 7, 2016 (Getty Images)
Motivated in part by the WikiLeaks revelations, thousands of Sanders supporters marched in protest of Hillary Clinton at the party’s nominating convention in Philadelphia. (RELATED: Occupy DNC Protesters Prepare Tent Cities For ‘Camp Bernie’)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, one of several high-profile Democratic senators to endorse Ellison for DNC chair, has called for congressional investigations into the hacks, which intelligence officials have said were carried out by Russian actors.
But not all on the Left are sure of Russia’s role in the hacks. Progressive news site The Intercept, which ran pieces critical of Clinton’s candidacy throughout the fall, has consistently ran pieces questioning the publicly available evidence — or lack thereof — that Russia meddled in the election. The site’s founder, Glenn Greenwald, has called for more skepticism on the subject.
The Intercept has consistently defended Ellison’s DNC candidacy after renewed public scrutiny of his ties to notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan, as well as new revelations that Ellison argued in an essay that blacks should have a separate nation in America. Hillary Clinton donor Haim Saban, meanwhile, has said Ellison is “clearly an anti-Semite.” (RELATED: Keith Ellison Claimed Jews ‘Mobilized’ By Israel To ‘Do Its Bidding In America’)
Amidst this growing divide between establishment Democrats and hard core progressives, Keith Ellison has managed to avoid weighing in on Russia’s possible hack of the political party he wants to lead in 2017.