Investigate Russia with special prosecutor

Indisputable information is available indicating Russia attempted to influence the 2016 presidential election and help elect Donald Trump. This is not “fake news.” A document by the U.S. intelligence community was released to the general public Jan. 6 and it states:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump.”

The ability of U.S. citizens to fairly elect our leaders is at the heart of our democracy. It should be of concern to all Americans that a foreign power has meddled in our democratic process. Citizens should expect our intelligence agencies to learn how Russia attempted to influence our election, if they had any cooperation from U.S. citizens, and what steps the U.S. must take to protect our elections from future meddling.

This investigation needs to be under the purview of a special prosecutor who is willing to follow the facts wherever they may lead.

This story was originally published March 8, 2017 at 2:48 PM with the headline "Investigate Russia with special prosecutor."