The White House's former top Russia adviser, Fiona Hill, testified before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday and rejected the "fictional narrative" pushed by President Trump and congressional Republicans that Ukraine, rather than Russia, meddled in the 2016 presidential election. Hill, a British-born Harvard PhD who formerly directed the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution, joined the National Security Council in March 2017 and resigned this past August. In her opening statement, she spoke forcefully against the Ukraine-centric conspiracy theory that has apparently been promoted by Rudy Giuliani and Paul Manafort, as well as the president:Advertisement: Testifying as part of the House impeachment inquiry into the president, Hill added, "I refuse to be part of an effort to legitimize an alternate narrative that the Ukrainian government is a U.S. adversary, and that Ukraine — not Russia — attacked us in 2016." Many Republicans on panel, led by Rep. Devin Nunes of California, have embraced and promoted the narrative that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election and colluded with Democrats in an effort to defeat Trump. Nunes has mentioned some version of this debunked conspiracy theory at every committee hearing so far — either in his opening statements, while questioning witnesses and in his closing remarks. Trump and his allies in Congress have pushed the discredited theory even though the U.S. intelligence community has unanimously concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election with the goal of boosting his candidacy and harming the campaign of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.Advertisement: Russia's efforts to meddle in the election have been confirmed by a host of federal, congressional intelligence and national security groups, including the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI, the Department of Justice, the NSA, the Department of Homeland Security and intelligence committees in both the House and Senate. Robert Mueller, the former special counsel who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election, also confirmed those conclusions. In his 448-page report, Mueller outlined Russia's attempts to influence the 2016 election. While testifying before Congress in July, Mueller reiterated his findings and noted the Russians have never stopped their interference. "They're doing it as we sit here," Mueller told lawmakers of Russian interference at the time.Advertisement: Trump, nevertheless, has continued to dismiss and attack the U.S. intelligence community's findings that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 election. Attorney General Bill Barr has directed the Justice Department to investigate the origins of Mueller's investigation, an apparent effort to suggest that the entire probe was corrupt and motivated by partisan politics. In her opening statement, Hill also took a none-too-veiled jab at her former boss, Trump's former national security
Russia expert Fiona Hill rejects GOP's 'fictional narrative' that Ukraine meddled in U.S. election
The White House's former top Russia adviser, Fiona Hill, testified before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday and rejected the "fictional narrative" pushed by President Trump and congressional Republicans that Ukraine, rather than Russia, meddled in the 2016 presidential election. Hill, a British-born Harvard PhD who formerly directed the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution, joined the National Security Council in March 2017 and resigned this past August. In her opening statement, she spoke forcefully against the Ukraine-centric conspiracy theory that has apparently been promoted by Rudy Giuliani and Paul Manafort, as well as the president:Advertisement: Testifying as part of the House impeachment inquiry into the president, Hill added, "I refuse to be part of an effort to legitimize an alternate narrative that the Ukrainian government is a U.S. adversary, and that Ukraine — not Russia — attacked us in 2016." Many Republicans on panel, led by Rep. Devin Nunes of California, have embraced and promoted the narrative that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election and colluded with Democrats in an effort to defeat Trump. Nunes has mentioned some version of this debunked conspiracy theory at every committee hearing so far — either in his opening statements, while questioning witnesses and in his closing remarks. Trump and his allies in Congress have pushed the discredited theory even though the U.S. intelligence community has unanimously concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election with the goal of boosting his candidacy and harming the campaign of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.Advertisement: Russia's efforts to meddle in the election have been confirmed by a host of federal, congressional intelligence and national security groups, including the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI, the Department of Justice, the NSA, the Department of Homeland Security and intelligence committees in both the House and Senate. Robert Mueller, the former special counsel who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election, also confirmed those conclusions. In his 448-page report, Mueller outlined Russia's attempts to influence the 2016 election. While testifying before Congress in July, Mueller reiterated his findings and noted the Russians have never stopped their interference. "They're doing it as we sit here," Mueller told lawmakers of Russian interference at the time.Advertisement: Trump, nevertheless, has continued to dismiss and attack the U.S. intelligence community's findings that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 election. Attorney General Bill Barr has directed the Justice Department to investigate the origins of Mueller's investigation, an apparent effort to suggest that the entire probe was corrupt and motivated by partisan politics. In her opening statement, Hill also took a none-too-veiled jab at her former boss, Trump's former national security
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